


A Double Edged Sword

by Waffle_Senpai



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: A Lot of Plot, Adventure, Angst, Beware of Teba, Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Getting to Know Each Other, Link is a badass, Link is a sweetheart, M/M, Male Sheik, Mentions of reincarnation, Mixed feelings, Possible Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Racism, Riju knows best, Self-Denial, Sidon accidentally pisses Sheik off, Slow Burn, So is Sheik, Some of the original plot for Botw is changed, Threats of Violence, Yiga Sheik, Yunobo needs a hug, future smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-05-23 11:09:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14933093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waffle_Senpai/pseuds/Waffle_Senpai
Summary: The Yiga Clan’s prime objective is to serve Ganon well. When word gets around that the hero who supposedly died in the Calamity is actually still alive, what does the Yiga Clan do? They send their best assassin of course. Will he follow through on killing the hero and getting the highest honor in his clan and to his king, or will he betray the only life he’s ever known for a stranger who claims to make the world right again?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing from any of the Zelda franchise.

Yells of anger, outrage and frustration called out from behind him and his two comrades. The three of them ran swiftly and silently as the feet behind them clicked against the hard surface of the small town. They weaved through the open doors of the buildings with ease as they kept a good distance away from the livid women behind them.

He could feel the pointed ends of the spears the soldiers carried waiting to get close enough to pierce through them, as an archer stood on the roof patiently with her bow and followed their movement. The entrance of the town was rapidly getting closer and closer as they ran. Some of the townspeople peeked out of their doorways looking tired as others looked alarmed to hear all of the commotion in the middle of the night.

He felt for the bag on his shoulder to make sure it was still there and that they didn’t go back empty handed. The man to his right stumbled hard on what looked like slightly higher rock. Unfortunately that was all it took for an opening as that slight pause gave the archer on the roof a chance to let the arrow fly loose. His comrade managed to maneuver before the arrow got his chest and it instead burrowed in his shoulder. A sound of pain left the man as the soldiers gained on him.

He turned to the man still alongside him and gave him instructions in their coded language. The man nodded as he took the bag from his shoulder and accelerated in speed, while he himself ran back toward his comrade and the Gerudo soldiers. He unsheathed the sickle at his right hip and ran past his ally to counter the spear of the women. He could feel the gaze of the archer getting ready to shoot him as he tried to hold off the other five spears attempting to over power him. A cry of pain escaped the archer on the roof as he saw her kneel from the corner of his eye.

A terrible sound of metal scrapping against eachother filled the town square. He shoved the spears off with his sickle as he dropped it to the ground right after and pulled out the bow from on his back. He took an arrow from the quiver he carried and immediately shot it at the kneeled archer. She yelled in pain and fell off of the roof. It didn’t take him long to figure out his injured comrade shot her with his own bow. The temporarily stopped soldiers jumped at him once again as he threw his bow behind him and picked up his sickle.

Now that the archer was fully out of the way, he could turn all of his focus on the soldiers. The closest woman jabbed at him with her spear in an attempt to hit him, which he parried. An arrow struck a soldier in the thigh which caused her to clench her teeth in pain and kneel. A few seconds later, another hit her chest and she completely fell to the hard ground. His ally was still injured and took longer to reload his bow, but at least he was helping him take out the rest of the soldiers. Though, it did slightly bug him that the man didn’t try to be a little faster.

Two women tried to run at his injured comrade while another joined the soldier he was currently fending off. He ducked the next jab of the spear in front of him and kicked the closet woman into the other, causing them both to tumble backward. He couldn’t afford for any of the soldiers to get behind him. He wanted to keep all of them in front of him while his ally watched any soldiers on his back. One of the two women in front of him let out a roar of fury as she dropped her spear and ran at him. He ducked her punch, but realized too late that she intentionally threw it so she could kick him across the face. He stumbled a foot back but regained his balance as he saw the other woman beside her join in hand to hand combat. He sheathed his blade as the other two women who he kicked joined in too.

The four lined up and slowly approached him. He didn’t dare back away as he tried to think of a strategy. Another arrow flew past him, but this time the woman it intended to hit was ready for it and moved away just in time. All four ran at him suddenly as he lunged for the wrist of the one closest to him. He grabbed it, dodged her kick, and punched her hard in the side. She winced in pain and he didn’t give her the chance to regain her composure as he used his free hand to punch her square in the face. Blood splattered from her nose across her face as the other three tried to come at him from the sides.

He kept a firm hold on the woman he had in front of him, using her as a temporary sheild so the others couldn’t attack him in the front without hurting her. When the two coming at his right and left got too close to him, he pulled out his dagger from the sheath on his left and held it to the woman’s neck. They immediately stopped their advances. The way he held the dagger wouldn’t slice this soldiers throat, but plung into it if they got too close. He yanked her wrist down causing her to smash her already injured nose right on his knee.

She screamed in pain as the other three winced. He didn’t want to take any chances of her getting away. He forced her to face them and temporarily let go of her wrist to instead grab her by her hair. Her face was bloodied and she was definitely feeling excruciating pain, but nevertheless, he forced her to uncomfortably bend back to where she was about his level. Gerudo stood a proud eight feet tall so he had to get her to where he stood so he could stab her neck if he had to.

None of the women moved as they watched his movements. Their eyes shone with hatred and their fists clenched in anger. The sudden sound of a horse neighing to a stop caught his attention, but he made sure not to let his eyes drift away from the three women. He heard very quiet footsteps approach him and knew that it was an ally. All of the Gerudo wore high heels which clicked against the solid rock of their town. His comrade told him that it was one of their own with two horses. Horses in the desert weren’t a very common thing, but it wasn’t completely unheard of. They could easily die of heat if you weren’t careful, but the night made the naturally hot desert cold.

He nodded in acknowledgment and spoke back to him in their native tongue. The man understood as he took out a rope from his pouch and began to tie the woman’s hands. One of the three soldiers stepped forward, but the one next to her held out an arm in front of her to stop her. Once the injured soldiers wrists were bound, he let go of her hair and put a cloth over her eyes quickly. At this point, he knew the soldiers wouldn’t do anything reckless to get their fellow soldier killed. He grabbed her wrist once again, and turned back to the three women.

“ _If any of you, or your soldiers try to follow us,_ ” he sliced the blade immediately across her neck. “ _She dies._ ” He said in their language.

They said nothing, but he knew he got his point across. The cut he made on this woman wasn’t deep enough to kill her, but deep enough to draw blood. He turned his back to them knowing full well that his injured ally was pointing a bow and arrow to keep them at bay. Once he and the injured soldier were close to the horse, he hit her across the face. Immediately, he caught her in his arms when she slumped over. He couldn’t risk her trying to retaliate when they were riding through the desert.

Luckily, these horses were tall and strong enough to ride at full speed even with a Gerudo. He hoisted her onto the horses back, draping her across the animal as he climbed onto the horse too. He watched as his wounded ally climbed up on the horse behind the man he sent back to their hideout.

“ _ **Monster!**_ ” He turned back to the woman. “ _Your heartlessness is something I would expect from your kind._ ” She practically spat as she straightened up, and despite not being able to see his eyes, she looked dead into them. “ _It’s voe like you that give me a bad taste in my mouth. You make me sick!_ ” Her voice cracked like thunder as everyone watched her. The soldiers next to her, the frightened townspeople, and all three of them. “ _I hope you, as well as Ganon, fall before the hero._ “ Her eyes showed her fury. “ _As you plead on your knees and beg of him not to smite you._ ”

He stared at her and she kept her ground. He almost wanted to crack a smirk. The fallen hero, come back from the grave? Instead of arguing with a livid Gerudo, he simply turned to his comrades. “Let’s go.” The rider followed his words as his horse went into gallop with his.

As they followed their way home, the rider turned to him. “Once we arrive back, you must go to Master Kohga.” He turned to look at the man talking. “He said it’s an urgent matter only you can handle, Sheik.”


	2. Chapter 2

Sheik frequently checked behind them to make sure they weren’t being followed, and made it a point to keep his weapons away from the soldier as they rode. The air blew from the canyon they approached as their clan’s imageries were posted all over the place. In his opinion, that was a rather foolish choice, but it was Master Kohga who decided to do that.

As they got closer to their hideout, Sheik slowed his horse down a bit. It was rare that adventurers looking for trouble or unfortunate travelers who found this place by accident showed up, but when they did, it was their strict rule to bring them to Master Kohga where they could be “evaluated”. From what he’s seen and heard, none of them have ever actually came back whenever they met their clan’s leader. He didn’t know whatever happened to them or what became of them.

Fortunately, no unwelcome visitors were going to have to be hauled into the hornets nest today. Once they were at the entrance of the hideout, his two comrades jumped down from the horse they were riding on and began to look over the injury. Sheik jumped down right after them and observed the two. “That arrow had ketamine on it.” The man said as he looked over the other’s shoulder.

“How can you tell?” The injured man asked. The other stayed quiet for a few seconds before he took hold of the arrow and yanked it out of the man’s shoulder.

Sheik definitely felt that one as he recalled having a few arrows yanked out so suddenly like that. The man however, didn’t even blink. “Huh. I didn’t even feel that.” He said. “I thought the rumors of the Gerudo being merciless were true.”

”They are.” He said as he approached the two. “That substance dulls the pain in your shoulder, but you won’t be able to move it soon.” He looked over the wound. “That’s probably why you were slow to shoot.” He directed his attention to the injured man. “Had I left you, you would have been overpowered and possibly killed. Watch your footing next time.” 

The man tensed. “Of course.” He said. It wasn’t Sheik who needed the reassuring. He needed to explain that to their clan leader.

He turned to the man now wrapping up the wound with a white cloth. “How did you identify that the arrow had something on it?” He asked him.

The man finished wrapping up the rest of the cloth and began to tie it off. He hummed in thought before he spoke. “Well, it has a certain scent to it.” He said to him. “Aside from the smell of blood, it smells,” The man finished tying the knot. “Sweet.”

He thought about this for a moment. “How did you know the substance?” Sheik asked him.

“Recent troops of ours managed to get ahold of some of the lab substances the Gerudo have been experimenting with recently. They were all labled. Zinc sulfide, sodium hydroxide, and ketamine.” He turned his full attention to him. “Master Kohga wants to see what else the Gerudo are up to.”

Sheik took a minute to think about what the man told him. Why wasn’t he informed of this?

Suddenly the sound of rustling was heard as all three of them turned toward the noise. The Gerudo soldier was beginning to slowly move as she stirred awake.

“We need to get her into a cell.” He said to them. They nodded as they took any remaining supplies they had brought with them down from the horse. Sheik watched as the woman remained silent and began to move her wrists to see how tight the rope was. Despite her pain, she managed to stay remarkably quiet. Gerudo were some of the toughest soldiers in Hyrule after all.

He watched her for a few more seconds, before he tapped her on the head with the flat side of the dagger, and watched as she ceased all movement. “ _I strongly advise that you don’t put up a fight._ ” He told the woman. “ _Your soldiers aren’t here to help you and I may even persuade the medical unit to take a look at your injures if you don’t give me too much trouble._ ”

She bared her teeth at that. “ _I don’t need help of any kind from scum like you!_ ” She shouted at him. “ _You will meet your match, and when you do, you’re going to regret everything you’ve done until this point._ ” She promised. He stared at her. It seems the Gerudo back there wasn’t the only one who thought this hero would return.

She got off the horse despite not being able to use her hands, and before she could even think of running, he grabbed her by her right arm. The other two men followed as the four of them made their way through the hideout entrance. Three other men were gathered around the cell division as they took in the sight of the soldier.

”Her nose is injured badly, so make sure you keep that in mind if she struggles too much.” Sheik told them as he handed her off to them. One of them opened the cell as another pushed her in. The last one closed and locked it with a metal key. Once he saw she was confined, he made his way to where he knew Master Kohga would be.

Noise was in every corner of the hideout as he made his way through the sea of loitering soldiers. A few were eating bananas as others were studying maps, but all of them seemed to stay clear enough to make a path. Sheik honestly didn’t like staying in this hideout for too long. There wasn’t a lot to do, so he spent most of his time outside. Going on missions was something he would always do since a lot of them involved stealing or killing someone who knew a little too much about something.

He walked right by someone guarding Master Kohga’s room as the man payed him no mind. Suddenly the loud chatter and talking sounded distant as the silence of Master Kohga’s room overpowered it. This room didn’t have as many fires, and gave off a chilly aura. This was a training room with target dummies everywhere. The man was currently reading something as he looked up to acknowledge his presence.

”Just the man I wanted to see.” He said to him. “You managed to get something we’ve been trying to obtain for the past month.” He said pleased.

Sheik didn’t know how to respond, so he chose to remain quiet. “And with all that commotion going on out there, you brought back another surprise.” The man continued.

The way he trailed off his voice implied that he wanted to know what he brought. “A Gerudo soldier.” Sheik supplied.

The man hummed in acknowledgement. “You have judgment that is very accurate.” He praised. “And I know that your judgement will tell me why exactly you brought a Gerudo soldier here.” His tone suddenly dropped.

“One of our men got hit in the shoulder with an arrow that had ketamine on it.” He began. “At the time I didn’t know this, but I knew the soldiers would possibly interrogate him for information had I left him there.” He said. “As a result of being overpowered by number, I had no choice but to take a captive and threaten them.” He finished.

“Excellent.” He nodded. “And I assume that if you know about the ketamine, your thoughts have already drawn the conclusion that?”

”They’re planning something.” He finished. “Something big. The Gerudo are best with combat, so the only way they would focus on something related to elements and compounds is if they were supplied with the information.”

Master Kohga banged his hand against the table. “Yes!” He said in victory. “Those are my exact thoughts.” He told him. “I think they’re talking to the Sheikah across Hyrule. And not just any random group of Sheikah either. I believe it’s either Impa or—“

”Purah.” He said with a nod.

The man approached him. “Sheik,” He said seriously. “You have not let me down on any mission, and you have managed to take the Thunder Helm this very night.” He said. “I entrust this information to you, and I know only you will be able to accomplish this very _very_ important task.”

The man stopped five feet away from him. “What I am about to tell you is strictly classified. You may not tell anyone else.” He ordered.

Sheik nodded. “You have my word.” He promised.

“Before I tell you, please remove your mask so I know you swear this to me and the clan.”

He paused for a second before he took off the Yiga Clan mask and revealed his vermillion eyes that stared at the man before him, along with lightly tanned skin, and blonde bangs that fell to frame his face.

Master Kohga put his thumb and index finger on his chin in thought as he leaned in toward Sheik. “Oh yeah, you wear another mask to cover the bottom portion of your face.” He mused outloud. “Never mind that,” he said to himself before he kept all of his focus back on Sheik. “The hero is still alive.”

Sheik felt his stomach and heart sink as his eyes widened.

Immediately, Master Kohga pointed enthusiasticly at him. “Yes! That face! That face is the exact one I made when I found out too!” He told him. “Word was given to me whenever one of our soldiers were scouting the mountain. He explained that he saw something ‘rather peculiar’ toward the Great Plateau remains, pulled out his telescope, and the rest is history.”

Sheik though about that for a long moment as he tried to process all of this. His mind was a mess as it tried to piece together how this could be true. The hero was said to have fallen nearly ten years ago during the Calamity. How was it possible that he was still alive? “How do we know this truly is the hero?” He asked suddenly.

Master Kohga turned his head up a little towards the ceiling in thought. “As I recall, he said the man who he saw supposedly carried a Sheikah Slate on his hip.”

Sheik couldn’t believe what was being said to him. Sheikah Slates weren’t supposed to be around anymore. The last recorded one was kept by the princess of Hyrule, but she was forced to face Ganon alone. Was it possible she hid him away along with the Sheikah Slate? He felt his eyebrows furrow in frustration as he came up with more scenarios on what could have happened. Then finally, what questions were supposed to be asked. “What was he doing?”

The man crossed his arms as he looked at Sheik thoughtfully. “I knew you were the the right man for this mission.” He said with a nod. “The soldier reported that the man, allegedly the hero, was talking to another man in the Great Plateau.” He began. “However, he didn’t get to see the face of the other man because a cloak covered his face.”

Another man in the Great Plateau. “How long ago was this reported?” He asked.

”A day ago.” Master Kohga told him. “Right after I asked of you to assemble a team to take the Thunder Helm.” He explained. “But I assume that you were the one to actually steal the priceless artifact, and as a result of taking a team who proved to be _incompetent_ ,” He stressed with a hint of anger. “You had to resort to a captive.” The man paused. “Which is why I’m sending you on this mission alone. So that no one else may get in your way once you encounter the hero.”

Sheik looked at the man with the last burning question just waiting to be asked. “What do you want me to do once I find the hero?”

An eerie silence passed over them for a few full seconds. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but he definitely sensed the man before him grinning. “You already know, don’t you?” He asked with anticipation.

Sheik thought about that. Yes, he knew exactly what his master wanted of him, but with the Gerudo talking with the other Sheikah, and the hero suddenly appearing, he paused. It was too much of a coincidence. 

Master Kohga must have sensed his wavering. “Your ultimate goal is to kill the hero and make sure he stays dead.” He told him. “But knowing you and your desire to find out all of the answers to every mystery, I’ll let you handle this your own way.” The man said to him.

Sheik nodded. “Understood.”

”Good.” He said with a nod. “I expect you to be back in less than a year.”

”A year?” He asked in surprise. Why a year? It didn’t take long for him to track someone down, and Master Kohga of all people knew this.

”You see,” He began. “It’s a hunch that you’ll need a lot more time than I would normally give you. I hate to let my best soldier go for so long, but this is something huge. I could feel that you will be able to kill the hero and discover something to better our clan.” He explained.

Master Kohga wasn’t the only one who felt something coming. Sheik didn’t know what it was yet, but he knew that this was a puzzle waiting to be solved, and it was clear his Master wanted him to gather all of the pieces.

He snapped out of his thoughts whenever he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned his blood red eyes up to meet the mask of his Master. “Make us proud, Sheik.” The man said to him.

He said nothing as he stared at the man’s mask for a while longer.

Then the man moved away suddenly to instead walk back to the scroll he had been reading before Sheik walked in. “Get a good night’s rest and be gone by morning.” His Master told him. “You have a long journey ahead of you.”


	3. Chapter 3

_A gust of air blew at his face as a low growl from the skies threatened rain. He looked around and saw green grass all around him with a figure just a few yards ahead turned around. They had on a hood and stared off at something in the distance. Cautiously, he approached._

_With each footstep he took, it seemed to grow more and more cold despite any wind from earlier ceasing to cross his path. His heart raced with each step he took even though there was no threat around. Soon, he stood a foot away from the hooded figure. The sound of his approach didn’t alarm them, and he wondered if they even noticed at all. Now as he looked at what the figure was looking at, he could see what was so captivating._

_They both stood on a cliff that gave a view of a castle completely in ruins. It had a dark feeling to it that sent chills down his spine. The only signs of life were trees that looked burned to a complete crisp, and even blowing lightly on them would cause the charred wood to fall. The castle looked completely destroyed. Like someone had stacked hundreds of rocks high on top of eachother and added a few windows. As he stared at it, a feeling of loss and remorse settled in. He couldn’t rip his eyes off of it to look at the face of the stranger next to him._

_He could hear a very light voice coming from the hooded figure. Or so he thought. He couldn’t see movement of any kind from their face, so the voice had to be coming from someone else. But no one else was here._

_“We rebuild.” The hooded figure said softly. It was the voice of a woman. Her tone was as if she was answering a question. He wanted to look at who this woman was, but he couldn’t move any of his muscles. It wasn’t as if he were struggling either. He told himself to move, but he couldn’t. The castle suddenly began to shake violently, but the ground it rested on remained completely still._

_The woman suddenly turned to look at him. Finally, he was able to move to look at her. When he laid his eyes on her, he saw a blur of colors making up a person. Like whenever you got rain in your eyes and your vision became blurry. But it was only her who was blurred. He then saw the castle start to tumble down as a flash of light ran across the sky. But no noise was audible._

_The woman suddenly reached a hand toward him. “Please,” She began. Rain started pouring down. He felt it tap lightly on him, but he couldn’t hear anything except the voice of the woman. Her hand rested on his forearm and it felt cold. No warmth at all emitted from her, as if she were ice. He watched the blur of her lips move. “Don’t forget.”_

Sheik let out a gasp as his eyes shot open. They darted everywhere his vision would allow him to as he sat up. It felt as if someone had knocked the air out of him as he breathed desperately to get it back. The sight before him were soldiers sleeping peacefully and undisturbed. The fires lit around the room shown on their chests rising and falling in a rhythmic pace. Once he saw there were no threats, he allowed himself to relax.

Another odd dream. Recently, his dreams always included that falling castle with it always shaking. This was the first time he saw anyone else in his dream. He remembered hearing a woman, but not being able to see her face. She had said something to him before he woke up.

A sudden loud clatter of metal caught his attention. He immediately shot up and quickly began to dress himself. No one else seemed to hear the noise, but some did shift in movement. He pulled down his shirt and put on his shoes before he grabbed his mask along with the dagger sheath, and ran toward the noise.

Silently, he approached the source of the disturbance and put on the mask, before he peaked around a corner. There in the cell, the Gerudo soldier held up a long pole, and reached it toward the key hanging just a foot away from it. She grunted as she tried to extend her limb as far as it could to try to reach the key. 

Sheik put the dagger back in its sheath as he walked into her line of sight. _“You do know whoever put that there did that intentionally, right?”_ He asked rhetorically.

She nearly dropped the pole she was dangling. Her eyes tore away from the key and focused on him. _”Shut up!”_ She yelled at him.

_”You’re going to wake everyone with your yelling.”_ He informed her.

_”I said **shut up**_!” She hissed quietly at him. Sheik followed her request as he said nothing in return. The soldier put the pole she had down as she sat on the ground next to where her discarded shoes were. _”I know you brought me here to threaten my soldiers with my life and gain the information you think I have.”_ She said to him. Her eyes showed her exhaustion from probably not sleeping as she still glared at him. Her nose was purple and looked a little crooked as dry blood adorned around her face.

_”Well regardless, they’ll find this place anyway, and find me.”_ She said as she showed him a yellow and white pill. Sheik’s eyes widened. _”Except I won’t be a liability again.”_

He ran at her as she threw the pill in her mouth. She slumped over as he dropped down to crouch beside her. He grabbed her tanned wrist and felt for a pulse. If she was still breathing, he would be able to wake up the medical team and-

Suddenly, she grabbed the hand on her wrist and used her other hand to punch him square in the face through the bars. He was momentarily stunned as she threw him to the side and seized the dagger at his hip. She took it and wasted no time cutting her hair and right after, took her shoe and the pole she was using. She used her hair to tie her high heel to the pole and double knotted it. She got to her feet and used her new added length to fully reach the key on the other side.

She used the inclination of the shoe to knock the key securely through the sole and kept it high so it wouldn’t slide off. She pulled it in toward her and took the key from the shoe. Then, she desperately fumbled for it to fit in the lock, and once it did, she turned it and the door- didn’t open. She tried again only to have it stuck from moving once again.

_”What the **fuck**?!”_ She asked with anger and confusion.

Sheik sat up as he moved his jaw with his hand. _”You fooled me well.”_ He admitted to her as he stood on his feet. “ _Had I thought more on what you bit down on, I would have thought about the reflection it had._ ” She looked toward the dagger now near the bars and dove for it. Sheik immediately caught her wrist still outside the bars with the decoy key and stepped on her hand reaching for the dagger.

She yelled in pain and frustration. _“Plastic.”_ He said. She breathed heavily as she attempted to move away and struggle to break free. _”Suicide pills are dull and chalky.”_ He stated. _”In your panic, you completely missed the chance to kill me even though you knew I would figure it out.”_ Sheik stared at her rage with a blank expression. _”What a wasted opportunity.”_ He commented.

_”I knew full well what I was doing.”_ She said through bared teeth. _“Killing you is not my intention._ She shook with anger. _”I am not a heartless murderer or a killer with no remorse. I can’t kill someone and sleep soundly the same night knowing I took someone’s parent, or sibling, or friend, or lover. You should be grateful I had spared you.”_ She tilted her head to the side. _”Just pray to Hylia that the hero does to.”_

Sheik held her eyes for a few more moments before he bent down and used his free hand to take the dagger. _”Fortunately for you, I have other matters to take care of.”_ He told her as he let go of her hand and stepped away. 

The Gerudo soldier set her pink lips down in a very tight frown as her green eyes glared at him. _”You have a way to go if you think this is a lesson on humanity. Sparing one life and taking another-“_ She stopped talking. _“What am I doing?”_ She murmured to herself in thought. _”There **is** no redemption for you.”_ The Gerudo soldier told him as she shook her head.

_”The only reason you won’t kill me now is because you need me alive. You stole our Thunder Helm,”_ Her temporarily cooled temper began to slowly rise again along with her voice. _“You and your clan have killed hundreds of my soldiers,”_ She seethed with anger. _”And then you walk away from me suggesting I’m ‘lucky’?”_ She stood up and glared fire at him. _”You’re all the same! Running around this beautiful land, tainting it with innocent blood. You’re a **killer!** I hope you find someone precious to you, someone who means the world to you, get put in a life or death situation so you can finally **understand** just how everyone you’ve stolen from feels.”_ Her eyes softened just a bit to reflect agony before it was wiped away with hatred.

The air around them was very tense. It was almost suffocating with the anger and frustration she emitted. Her head was held high as she stood up straight, her now cut hair that was tied back was now falling down a little higher than her shoulders. Disbelief colored her eyes but she stood tall. This woman made it a point not to seem or act vulnerable at all. She was intelligent and very strong. He frowned. She would find another way to fool the guards and escape if he left.

Sheik turned around and began to walk back to where his things and the rest of the sleeping soldiers were. The whole time he walked in the view of the woman, he could feel her eyes staring at him.

He made his way back over to the cot he was sleeping in and began to gather his things. He began to finish putting on the rest of the outfit he wore. His clothes were a lot different than the traditional Yiga ones since Master Kohga gave these to him. Instead of the full leather outfit, His was a strong, red cloth material that had black steel armor for his thighs, shins, fore arms and upper arms. He had grown accustomed to moving very fast even with the metal. He had grey cloth wraps around his wrists, hands, and ankles. Only he wore this outfit in the Yiga Clan. His Master had told him that it was because he was his ‘best soldier’ in their clan, and so he wore a special outfit to reflect that.

It was red and black like the rest of the Yiga, and strangely enough, wearing it always seemed to bring him comfort each time he put it on. He didn’t know why. The last part of his outfit was the grey cloth that covered his chest to his waist and had the red Yiga symbol stitched into it. He never took his shemagh off around other people or hardly ever. The only time he did was to bathe, but that was it. In contrast to his outfit, it was white, but he covered half of it with the grey Yiga mask.

Once he was finished with fully assembling his outfit, he began to pack what he was bringing. He got the feeling he would be traveling very far around Hyrule, so he made sure to pack food that would last him for a few days since he knew he’d find more, a canteen, wood, rope, and his wallet. Those were the most essential items he could think of for now, and he didn’t want to weigh himself down with unnecessary items. He took his dagger, bow, quiver, sickle, and short sword. And with that, he made his way out of the hideout.

He didn’t have any friends or family in the Yiga Clan, and he wasn’t sure if he had family at all. Half of his life was missing from his memories. Master Kohga had explained to him that maybe it was his brain coping with traumatic events, or some case of memory loss. He honestly didn’t know, but his master told him that he sent him to fight in the Calamity with a team and that only he had made it back. He couldn’t recall anything no matter how much he tried, and it did bother him at times that at least half of his life was stolen from him, but he learned to live with it.

Sheik stood outside the Yiga hideout, and looked at the sky. The moon was beginning to trade places with the sun as he saw its light begin to shine. That meant he got roughly three hours of sleep, so he would be okay for at least a day or two. He quickly made a hand seal and immediately he was at the top of a mountain. It was cold and breathing the air with his shemagh and his mask was hard enough as it was. The Yiga Clan did have teleportation that was given to them by Master Kohga, but it was limited. To travel far distances, they had to mark landmarks or something that wouldn’t move out of it’s place. Traveling without the marks wouldn’t get you very far at all. Maybe a few yards at most, but that was it.

He shivered slightly at the cold atmosphere and took off the Yiga mask to get a closer look at the Great Plateau. He could see slightly far, but not that much. The Great Plateau was supposed to be sealed off by all as a “Sacred Place” next to the Korok Forest, and even if you wanted to go there, you’d have to find a way up the incredibly tall walls. Sheik chose to start looking in the Great Plateau first since the ‘hero’ could still be there.

He exhaled some of the cold air around him softly, before he took out the rope he had brought and an arrow from his quiver. He got the end of the rope and laced it around the rock that had the mark of the Yiga on it. His fingers were beginning to go slightly numb from the cold so he had to get out of this climate quickly.

He tied the rope to the arrow tightly, and prayed that the arrow would still fly far despite the extra weight added to it. He took out his bow and pulled back the string as far as he could. The fog from the canyon was messing up his line of sight making it hard to see. He waited patiently with the loaded arrow, and once he saw an opening and a tree, he pointed his bow and arrow at it, and let it fly.

The rope was thinner than most and had thin streaks of steel embedded in it for this exact purpose. He watched it spin into a spiral with the arrow as it disappeared into the fog. He waited a few seconds before he strummed the rope and watched it vibrate. He took a sharp inhale of air. He actually struck the tree. He wasted no more time as he sat down by the rock in the snow. Now that that was out of the way, he had to completely rely on chance.

This wasn’t the first time his clan has tried to make it to the Great Plateau. They searched everywhere for an opening and tried to climb the steep walls, but to no avail. The canyon was very deep, and falling meant certain death. He felt his jaw tighten and the thought. He took out his dagger and examined the rope. There was a slight droop from here to the wall of the Great Plateau, so he would have no problem with speed or movement. Before he could change his mind, he put his arm under the other side of the rope and gripped the handle of the dagger tightly. And with the other, he tried his best to find a way to grip the blade. Once he was confident he could hold the blade long enough to swing across, he squeezed his eyes shut, and kicked off the ledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Googles for thirty minutes what the hell that thing Sheik wears around his head, down to his neck is*


	4. Chapter 4

After Sheik had left the secure ground, he immediately regretted it. The steel embedded in the rope was sliding against the metal blade of the dagger causing it to begin to make sparks. The sparks were too small to catch on the ropes to have them burn, and his wraps were damp from the snow to catch on fire too. But he had to grip the actual blade of the dagger hard for him not to lose his balance or let go.

It dug into his skin and hurt like hell, but there was no way he was letting go now. It was hard to breathe with all the air hitting his face at once, but he was glad the harsh and brutal training he had to go through in the Yiga Clan payed off. Running up a very steep hill from dusk till dawn and over again, doing push ups on an extremely high tree with a fire below him, and repeatedly getting punched everywhere to build up endurance.

His arms were aching from holding himself up for so long, and he was completely sure his hand on the dagger blade was now bleeding. But to make matters even worse, the rope end with the rock began to start slipping. He was almost nearing the wall and he knew the tree with a simple arrow piercing it would never hold him up.

Then immediately, the rock holding the rope gave out. Sheik immediately let go of the dagger blade and used his cut hand to grip the rope with everything he had. He was about to swing hard into the Great Plateau wall, so he turned his back to it to lessen the blow.

Not even a second after did he come in direct contact with the wall. He hit it _hard_ and as a result, got all of the air knocked out of his lungs. Surprisingly, the rope end of the Great Plateau was holding up incredibly well despite all of his weight now relying only on it. If this end gave out before he reached the top of the wall, he was a goner.

His heart raced with adrenaline as he tried to get the oxygen he had lost back. He swung very lightly as he held the rope with his cut hand and the other held his dagger.

Once he got at least half of the air he needed back, he put his dagger back in its sheath, and wrapped the rope around his injured hand twice before the other hand joined it. He didn’t feel the pain from earlier in his arms, and his hand now bloodying up His bandages didn’t hurt. But that was just the adrenaline. Once he calmed down again, everything would hurt.

Sheik swung his legs toward the wall to not have to completely rely on the rope incase it did decide to come loose. His feet touched the wall, and soon he began to walk along it. He made it a point to not look down since he didn’t want to know what terrible death awaited him if the arrow in the tree really did decide to give out.

He was so close to the edge now that he jumped before the rope could give out. He held on for dear life on the edge and pulled himself up. Immediately, after both his knees were on the ledge along with both his hands, he collapsed to lay on the wall.

His clan had tried for so long to get over this wall and grazing it was only a dream for them. But now, he had made it across. He could plaster this place with the Yiga Clan marks so his clan could come here to. He looked over the edge and at the never ending fall below. Had he actually not made it across, he could have been falling for Hylia knows how long. Now looking at the darkness below, it sent chills through him. The fall looked menacing. He was glad he made the choice not to look at it on his way across the ravine.

He stared at it for a little while longer before he sat up and looked into the Great Plateau. It had life everywhere in contrast to the desert. The rough sand he always saw was nothing compared to the deep green grass of the Great Plateau. The hundreds of different colored flowers and green trees that stood tall put the occasional fruit bearing cacti to shame.

Sheik was in complete awe at the beauty of this place. It didn’t seem real. It had such a surreal feeling to it that made it seem almost sacred in a way. The sun was beginning to peak out from the horizon as it sent sunlight through the soft blowing trees. He looked around some more before he spotted something odd.

The tree that he intended to hit with his arrow, didn’t actually have the arrow in it. Instead, was wrapped tightly around the base of the tree. Sudden dread began to set in his stomach. There was no way his arrow had done that. Someone else was here.

he looked down at the ground from the wall and gauged how high he was. Maybe around eight feet, and that wasn’t high at all. Sheik immediately jumped down and winced as he put support on his cut hand. It felt like someone had stabbed his hand before putting fire directly on it.

He immediately took his hand off the ground and unwrapped the bandage wraps to look at the damage. It was a bloody mess. The gash was bigger than he thought it would be as it stretched across the palm of his hand, and it was wide with an angry red surrounding the wound. He touched around in and sucked through his teeth in pain. At least it wasn’t his dominant hand, but this was still going to be a problem.

Sheik knew there wasn’t much he could do about his injury right now, so he just bandaged it back and tried to get his mind off the pain.

He walked over to the tree that had his rope wrapped around it and examined it. It was wrapped around the base 3 times and tied into a knot. If someone hadn’t done this, he would never have made it across alive. He watched the rope like it would disappear if he looked away. He had almost died.

The wind blowing by him reminded him that he had an objective. Dwelling over death wouldn’t benefit him in anyway. He untied the tightly knotted rope and began to recoil it to use again. Every time it leaned too much into his injury, a pain shot all around his hand. Sheik could deal with the pain. It was a small price to pay for his life literally on the line.

He put the rope in his bag as he examined the arrow it had been originally attached to. Someone had taken it off, but it wasn’t salvageable. The wood was very clearly damaged and it would break if more pressure was added to it.

He frowned deeply as he stared at the arrow in thought. This was pure luck. Sheik was supposed to track down the hero and kill him. Mistakes like this couldn’t happen again. Anger spiked through him suddenly before he defused it with a deep breath of the warm air. He took a few seconds before he put on his Yiga mask again.

He needed to find whoever was here.

His red eyes scanned all of his surroundings regardless of the mask. He had learned to see well with the cloth and wood over his face, so even with it, nothing really got by him.

As he looked around, he listened for anything. Any footsteps, voices, breathing, something that would at least guide him in the right direction to whoever it was that was here.

He let about a minute pass before he knew that staying in one spot wouldn’t get him any closer to this person. He took a careful step forward to gauge out how loud each step would be in the grass. It was loud to him since he was trained to listen sharply, but to any normal person, they would probably barely notice unless they really listened close.

Sheik then took one step after another before he was moving quietly and quick throughout the forest. This was almost like running blind since he didn’t know any of this land or the creatures in it.

His eyes scanned the large mushrooms growing by the moss next to some of the trees, the boar that grazed and watched him to see if he was a threat.

Then, out of nowhere, there was a snap of a stick. He reached up and grabbed onto the branch of the tree he knew was above him, and swung himself with the momentum he had. He then used the fingertips of his other hand to steady himself on the branch, and land quietly as the rest of his body followed suit.

He made no movement except in his eyes, which were darting everywhere to see what the disturbance was. The boar here were too small to break a stick that sounded that big. It was either a big elk or a person.

Then, he focused his eyes forward. It was tough to see because of all the tree leaves, but there was something over there that looked about the size of a grown adult.

Sheik wasted no time as he jumped down and ran silently at what looked like a figure. He wasn’t winded from any of the running since he was trained to run in distance and speed through lots of sand. He got closer and closer to the figure and stopped just short of where the trees ended.

There was a large clearing that had nothing to hide behind. The person stared out toward Hyrule castle and had on a cloak. He felt his eyes widen as he realized the person was at the edge of the wall. It was exactly like his dream, except it wasn’t about to rain and there wasn’t a cliff.

He stared at the figure for a few more seconds, before he grabbed his dagger and ran at the person. Once he reached them, he pulled off the dark blue cloak they were wearing, and he was met with a tall tree log.

Sheik stood in shock as he held the cloak and took a moment to process what was in front of him. The cloak was able to cover it from head to toe to act as a decoy.

Before he could think of why someone had set up a decoy here, he heard loud steps in the grass walking right to him. He immediately turned around and got in a fighting stance, dagger ready. The person didn’t even try to hide as he got an eye full of who it was.

The man before him was a bigger built man with a long white beard and hair. He had on a black tunic and brown leggings to go with his leather black boots. His eyes were a light shade of blue and had skin crinkling upturned to show his age, as his mouth was set in a friendly smile.

He knew the man very clearly saw the dagger, but the man still looked happy regardless as he stood just a few feet away from him. Sheik kept his eyes on him and didn’t dare lower his guard.

“I never thought I’d see the day when one of my own soldiers turned their blade on me.” The man said in Hylian. And even though Sheik has never heard the language before, he understood it fluently. What about this guy and ‘his’ soldiers?

He remained quiet as the man began to walk towards the space next to him. “Nor did I think one of my best men would side with one of our enemies.” He said as his smile dropped a little.

His red eyes stayed on the man along with his dagger as he allowed the man to stand beside him. Normally, he would _never_ let anyone do something like that unless it was someone of his Clan. The man had even very clearly said ‘our enemies’. He was very confused about what this man was talking about.

The man looked at the dagger Sheik was holding, then back up to look at him. “From the way you hold yourself in my presence, I assume you are in the same situation as Link.” The man told him.

This time, he did allow his dagger to drop a bit. Who is Link?

The white haired man seemed to have noticed his puzzlement as he nodded at him. “Indeed it appears you have lost your memory.” He said quietly to him as he turned his eyes back to where the Castle rested.

“Though this situation must be very troubling for you, as you seem to act toward me with the familiarity of that of an enemy or a stranger, I ask of you to please listen to what I have to say.” He told him. “Then, you may make your own assessment of my words.”

Sheik had no idea what to do in this situation. Confusion took over his mind as he tried to think of what this man was talking about. He spoke to him as if he knew him, he knew about him not being able to remember almost half his life, he understood Hylian, and his instincts screamed at him to listen to what he had to say.

He looked back up to see the man’s blue eyes staring at his own even though he knew he had put his mask back on. The next thing he noticed was how he had completely relaxed from his stance and dropped his hand with the dagger. Immediately after he noticed, he lifted up the dagger once again. What was going on with him?

The man chuckled a bit as he lifted up his hand and pierced it through his dagger. Alarm bells went off in his head as he witnessed the dagger pass through the hand like nothing was there. He realized his possible opponent couldn’t be hurt. “Do not be alarmed.” The old man told him with reassurance.

“I have no intention to do you any harm.” The strange man said as he stared at him. “I was once the ruler of this land.” He began. “I was not able to survive in the Calamity, and as a result, I had to rely on my soldiers to carry out my wishes. Ganon caught us all by surprise and overthrew us.”

”We were not prepared for his attack on us, nor his ability to control our military arsenals. He took over our four greatest weapons and what we call the guardians.” His blue eyes then softened a bit. “Ten years ago, I had three individuals who I entrusted to put an end to the evil, by awakening the powers the legends had told.

He was about to say something, before the man claiming to be King Rhoam held up a hand to silence him. “One of the three had nearly died from overworking their abilities, and as a result, had to stay in the castle under my order.” He turned toward the castle. “That left the other two to track down Ganon, as the third tried to awaken the power they possessed through blood.”

”Unfortunately, that’s all I know about what happened in the Calamity. My daughter is now left fighting Ganon, and as the days go by, I could feel her power weaken.” He frowned. “I’m afraid I have no knowledge of why you two lost your memory, or how you ended up in two different places, but I know there’s a chance of stopping Ganon.”

The man looked at him once again. “I don’t know what the Yiga Clan has told you, but you were once my soldier, Sheik. You and Link were the two best soldiers in Hyrule and you both were close to finding Ganon.”

He was completely stunned. He didn’t even know where to start in processing all of this information. Was this all true, or was this man lying? He did know things about him that very few did. He froze. This man had yet to see his face and yet he knew who he was.

“Forgive me if my explaining is a bit of a mess.” He apologized. “That’s all the information I could give to you.” He held out a hand to Sheik. “If I may, can I show you further proof that I am speaking through honesty and not trickery?” He asked him. “Your left arm, please.”

Now was a really big decision for him. If this man is truly lying and he gives him his arm, the man could possibly kill him. But if this truly was King Rhoam, and he really was once a soldier under him, this could explain a lot of things. He hesitated, before he put the dagger back in its sheath and gave the man his left arm.

He watched very closely as the man unwrapped his bandaged wraps and revealed to him the mark Sheik had always wondered why he had. It was the Hylian crest, but it was missing the Triforce and the two talons it had on either side. It was in black and looked like it was inked in, and it stretched out completely across his wrist.

“This mark is given to all of the royal family’s elite soldiers.” He explained. Then, the man allegedly King Rhoam looked at his outfit. “That gear was made especially for you.” He told him. “It seems the people of the Yiga have given it back to you by modifying it.” He said as he took out a cloth from his pocket. Then, he put it on the top of his arm and ran it down to his wrist.

The black then bled to a light grey, and the grey wraps then revealed white. He looked at his arm in disbelief.

“That material is not easy to dye at all. They must have invested a lot of time to make it these colors.” He began. “But with the help of a few chemicals, the dye is easily removed to show its original color.” He said.

The man offered him the cloth, and Sheik wasted no time taking it and rubbing it on the rest of his outfit. And sure enough, it bled back to its original color. It turned out that his outfit was dark blue, grey, and white. He then ran the cloth on the Yiga Clan symbol on his chest, and watched as it changed to the Sheikah Clan’s symbol. The symbol he had always been told were traitors to his clan.

He snapped his head up whenever he heard the King chuckle. “Now you look like your original self.” He said with delight. “But that mask doesn’t suit you at all.” He told him.

Sheik didn’t even think twice whenever he took it from his face and examined it. He tried to rub the cloth on it to see if it would change too, but it didn’t. The white and red stayed the same, and the red eye on the mask was staring right at him. This seemed like the only thing that was real to him.

He could feel the King staring at him, as if he were expecting an answer out of him, and he probably was. Finally, he looked to meet his eyes. “Even if what you told me is true, I don’t know if I should turn against the Yiga Clan.” He said to him. “I’ve served them for years, and I know nothing about the memories you speak of.”

The King’s expression didn’t change. “That’s why I told you to make your own judgement.” He told him. “Ganon and the Yiga Clan are merciless and will stop at nothing to get what they want. Even if that means throwing away a soldier.” He told him.

“Perhaps if you were to find Link, you would get your memory back.” He suggested.

Sheik stared at the man. “I am on a mission for my clan.” He began. “I have been instructed to kill someone. I serve my clan and we serve Ganon. I have loyalty for them and for him, and I will make sure to carry out the task given to me.” He told him.

The man nodded. “I understand.” He said to him. “All of this is very confusing and you want to go with what you’ve known.” He said. “I am just a ghost, so I cannot do much to stop you, or change your mind. But please,” He began. “My daughter is left alone to protect Hyrule. If she dies, so will innocents.”

Sheik stayed silent.

”I saved your life by helping you get here.” He said. “All I ask in return is that you consider what I said to you. Your memory loss is a gate that is keeping the truth locked behind bars. Trust me when I say this life you’re living is not the one you want. There is so much you don’t know, but traveling the land once again may help you remember.”

His eyes looked pleading. “Please.” He begged.

If there was one thing Sheik searched for, it was answers. He needed answers now that there was a chance he could possibly get his memories back. And the man did save his life. The King wasn’t making him promise anything but to think. He looked the King in the eyes. “I will consider your words.” He promised the man.

The King relaxed as he smiled. “Thank you, Sheik.” He said to him.

The King turned to Hyrule Castle. “My time is limited.” He told him.“If there is an answer you desire to know, you must tell me now.” 

He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but he decided to ask anyway. “I know that two of the three people you spoke of were your daughter and I,” He began. “And the third?”

The wind blew gently as it breezes through the grass they were standing on. Then, King Rhoam turned his light blue eyes back on Sheik. “He is the hero of Hyrule, Link.” He said softly.


	5. Chapter 5

Slow footsteps crunched beneath him as he walked on top of dirt. The trees around him joined in as they filled the silence. The sun was high in the sky now as he walked. All around him there were old ruins that were rotting with time. As he looked around at them, he wondered what had happened. Why had they been abandoned?

A loud squeal came from a nearby boar which caused him to turn his full attention to the noise. A wolf had taken down the boar and was now clamping it’s jaws around it’s already wounded leg. The brown boar struggled in vain as it squealed with panic and helplessness. The grey wolf showed no mercy as it chomped in the pig’s bloody wound.

Suddenly, the wolf turned its vicious eyes onto him and stared right back. That’s when he realized he had stopped moving to observe the sight. The dog had its sharp teeth clamped on the animal below it as it watched him with a long stare. A stare daring him to challenge the creature.

Usually fear would strike anyone who would be under such a threatening gaze, but he felt no urgency to run or to fight. Instead, he completely turned his attention back to the rocky path, and continued walking.

The clouds above him occasionally cloaked the sky for a temporary time before they went on their way and let the sun’s warmth bathe the earth fully again. He had been walking for hours now and was told by a man going by the name of “King Rhoam” to do a few critical tasks.

He pondered this for a moment. He woke up in a cave a few days ago. No recollection of anything but faced with a cold, dark cave. He didn’t know who he was, didn’t know anyone, didn’t know what happened prior to his situation, nothing. Most would go insane with fear and terror. Scream and cry and frantically think about what was happening. They would fear for their life. But all he thought in that situation was “what happened?” He didn’t feel anything but wonder.

That much in itself made him curious. He didn’t respond in a normal way, which meant he either developed a way or was trained to stay calm in any circumstance. He had found a device and took it from the pedestal it rested upon, before he found some clothes near him and put them on. He had met a man claiming to be a king and listened to him tell a story of his daughter who was a princess, and of a kingdom falling in ruin because of a great threat. He had been ordered to save this kingdom and save the princess.

The king had called him a knight and told him that he had lost all of his memories. He was told that he would have to go to Kakariko Village and talk to someone there who would help him. He had felt a strong desire to help the man, and right now, he needed to know who he was and how he could recall his memories.

He thought about how the king spoke of a princess and of him being a knight. Somewhere, he had recalled reading a story of a princess and a knight who would rescue her. The princess described as being elegant, poise, and truly breathtaking in beauty and soul. And of the knight who was described as brave, devoted, strong, and ready to take on any threat head first. Somehow, this all seemed like that story. Predictable to say the least. If he defeated this threat, would the princess thank him and take him by her side to watch over the kingdom he had protected? Did he once know who she was?

That story had really gotten to him. This threat was a serious issue and he could be killed if he wasn’t careful. As for the princess, he will soon figure out who she is in time. He had a strong feeling telling him so.

A loud snarl suddenly met his ears as he watched a huge monster with a long snout charging at him. He unsheathed a rusty sword he had found and plunged it into its stomach with both his hands gripping the handle. His brows furrowed as he listened to the monster howl in pain and lean all its weight on him. The thing went limp and all noise from it ceased. He put his foot on the creature’s stomach, and pushed off of it until his blade slide out and the creature fell onto its back.

He examined the tall monster and nudged it with his brown boot. It was dead. He really didn’t like taking a life, but as the smaller versions of this thing had taught him, it was either kill or be killed. It was clear that he knew how to fight. That meant the king was truthful whenever he said he was a knight. He remembered a few things on fighting without knowing where he learned this, and seemed to fight on instinct rather than tactically.

The man had also mentioned that his name was Link. Since he had no other source to go off of, he trusted every word the man said. He let his eyes linger on the corpse of the brown monster before he saw a sign a few yards in front of him that split into two paths.

Link took out the device the king had called a “Sheikah Slate” and examined the map on it. The map had read that he needed to keep to the left to get to the village, but it was a long way to get there. He nodded to himself as he tried to slide the device back into its pouch, but instead it dropped on the ground.

Immediately, he cursed to himself as he picked it up and scanned it for any damages. It was completely unharmed, but had a few specs of dirt on the flat surface. He wiped the surface, and jumped a bit whenever the map suddenly followed his finger to the left of the screen. Instead of a detailed map showing all of “Hyrule”, as the king had told him this kingdom was called, it showed three people on the slate.

He had seen his reflection whenever the king was training with him and handed him a bucket of cold water after he successfully countered all of his attacks, and saw his own blue eyes looking curiously at him on the slate. Link was looking at himself in wonder and he had to lean to the right to make sure the him on the slate wasn’t watching him. He appeared to be frozen in the same wonder and his own eyes didn’t follow him.

Once he established that the people on the screen were frozen, he scanned the slate some more. The girl in the photo had her mouth open slightly as she stared at him with raised eyebrows indicating surprise. She had bright green eyes that held wonder and lighter hair. He assumed she was the princess.

Finally, he turned his attention to the third figure. It was a man with olive skin, and bright red eyes. He had a cloth wrapped around the top of his head and around the bottom portion of his face which only left his eyes. Wisps of blonde hair fell across the visible parts of his face. His visible face held no expression, but Link could immediately see that the man’s eyes shone with interest. Out of the two people, this man interested him the most of all. Something about him had his senses going haywire with emotions. Too many to put a name on, but all of them were there.

Once he was done examining the image, Link repeated the act of swiping his finger across the device to the left of the screen. The image moved with his finger as another replaced it. This time, it was a slightly blurry version of him and who he was assuming was the princess. He didn’t know why they had looked blurry in this picture, but he examined it anyway.

He saw his face remaining indifferent in the picture this time, while the princess’s was filled with a smile. Her eyes crinkled up at the corners to indicate her happiness, her smile stretched across her face, her hands were on his arm as she leaned her head on his shoulder, and they seemed to be by a river in this image. He had wondered briefly where the man in the last picture had went, before he swiped to show another picture.

This one showed the princess’s full body instead of just her head and her upper arms. She was holding up a vile of red liquid and had a smaller smile on her face. Immediately, Link could see she was upset about something. She barely managed a smile in the image and her shoulders rose up a bit higher showing she was tense. Her outfit indeed looked fit for royalty as well. It was a dark blue with a lot of designs on it with her legs sporting black leggings. She had on brown boots, and this time her hair was held back behind her head by something, which caused it to cascade behind her.

Something about _this_ photo seemed familiar to him. He stared at it more and more, trying to trigger a memory of some kind. She was in front of what looked like a forest behind her, and she was standing a few feet away from a very large rock. Then, he noticed it.

It was barely on the screen, but he still caught it. There was what looked like an arm to the left of the screen. And just seeing that arm triggered a painful throbbing in his head. He nearly dropped the slate again, but he clutched it to his chest with one of his hands while the other shot up to his hair to be put over the pounding. He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth as images rapidly began to make their way through his vision.

_The three of them walked quietly along the road that was leading to where they needed to meet Daruk. He turned to his right and watched as the princess was eagerly messing with the Sheikah Slate, and Sheik was looking forward paying no mind. The Sheikah must have felt his gaze on him, because he turned and met Link’s eyes. The man had the same expressionless look to him that was really emphasized with that cloth covering nearly half his face._

_A sudden ear wrenching shriek filled his ears as everyone stopped abruptly. “Help me!” A woman’s voice screamed desperately. Link immediately broke into a sprint as Sheik matched his pace. He searched everywhere frantically with his eyes as he got closer and closer to where the scream might have come from. A woman being chased by a Bokoblin ran just a few yards in front of them. Terror painted her face as she desperately tried to get away from the monster. “Someone! Please help me!” She shouted again._

_Link reached behind him and unsheathed his sword, ready to attack the creature. The woman suddenly tripped over herself in her panic and landed hard on her stomach. The monster ran rapidly at her as it saw its opportunity to go in for the kill. The woman began to try and stand up, but fell right back down as the thing jumped on her back. Link charged at the pair with his sword as the monster got close to the woman’s crying face and let out what sounded like a mix of a cry and a squeal._

_Suddenly, the thing flew back and lay motionless on the ground with a dagger lodged in the side of its skull. Link stopped all motion and snapped his head in surprise to Sheik. The Sheikah had his arm extended out to indicate that he was the thrower. The woman darted her attention to them as she trembled. She saw Sheik and gasped in horror before she tumbled over herself to get up and ran at Link. She threw her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder._

_”Please protect me!” She begged him. “That’s one of the Yiga Clan!” She said in hysteria. Link awkwardly had his arms raised up a bit and he didn’t know what to do. He felt uncomfortable with her hugging him, but he couldn’t just push this poor woman away, so he just stood there as she clung to him._

_Footsteps came running toward them before they came to a stop. “What happened?” The princess asked with concern. The woman looked up from crying into his shoulder and at the princess. “Your highness!” She exclaimed as she let go of him and walked quickly to her. His attention was then directed to Sheik walking toward the monster he had struck down. Link looked between the two women and chose to trail behind the man as the princess was set to deal with the woman._

_Sheik stopped in front of the body and crouched beside the unmoving monster. “You hesitated.” He said._

_Link looked at him in surprise. “What?” He asked before he could stop himself. Sheik spoke even less than he did, so hearing him talk wasn’t something to be brushed off._

_“You didn’t stop this thing from trampling that woman.” He explained. “What if she had been killed? We both know monsters are merciless creatures who will always go in for the kill.” He said as he wrapped his hand around the handle of the dagger and yanked it out. “As the Hero of Hyrule, you are to strike down any and all threats to this land. Protect the citizens in it. Your reputation as the land’s hero would have been tainted had this woman had her life stolen from her by this monster.”_

_Link couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You waited until the last minute to take down the monster.” He told the Sheikah. “And even then you nearly hit the woman.”_

_Sheik stood up and turned his gaze to look at him. “I was waiting for you to make the move.” He told him. “I had my suspicions, but it seems I was correct.” He stepped closer to him and had his eyes just inches from his own. “You prefer not to kill.” He told him. “That’s dangerous for you. Had I not been here, that woman could have been slaughtered before your very eyes.”_

_”I knew what I was doing.” Link said to the man._

_”No, you didn’t.” He countered. “All you have is the Legendary Sword on your back and it would be foolish to throw it.” Sheik’s vermillion eyes mixed with his blue ones. “Do not lie to me, hero. To others you may be a mystery, but to me you’re easier to read than a book. You didn’t know how to react. You waited until you knew there was absolutely no other way to help the woman before you drew your sword.”_

_Annoyance poked at him. “So you put an innocent in danger just to see if you were right?”_

_“That’s right.” Sheik confirmed. “But it’s not my job to kill monsters. My job is to protect the princess, assist her in her research and her power. Your job is to kill monsters and protect civilians.”_

_“You’re too specific.” Link informed him. “As a soldier your duty is to assist in protecting innocents no matter the order.”_

_“Hero,” Sheik began. “You couldn’t be more incorrect. As the soldier chosen by Hylia and the King of Hyrule himself, you are to be seen a certain way. From the moment you picked up that sword, your life no longer became your own. You do not get to decide if you want to hurt a creature or not. If there’s a citizen in danger you kill on reflex, if the princess is falling down a cliff with rocks at the bottom you throw yourself right after her and cushion her fall.”_

_He stared at the Sheikah with a blank expression, but he felt his teeth clench in anger. “You don’t like the truth, hero?” Sheik asked him. “You have no say in the matter. In this land, you are seen as an unstoppable enigma. Something that can be thrown to Ganon if we so need. A sacrifice if need be.” He blinked. “Just like the previous hero’s before you.”_

_Link took a few seconds to think about what the Sheikah told him. He did have a point, and he knew more than anyone that he was only telling the truth, but it still irked him that that was all he was to Hyrule. He inhaled slowly before he softly exhaled. For now, he needed to calm down. “Are you saying that you don’t care about the people or this land?” Link asked him._

_Sheik eyed him curiously. Link could tell he had definitely surprised the man. It seemed like the man was used to having people get angry at him. “It shouldn’t matter to you about what I do and do not care about.” He said. “But if you wish to know, I can’t say I care about people I don’t know.” He told him._

_That was fair. He didn’t know anything about this man. He had only been introduced to him days ago and the man didn’t speak too much. No ordinary person thought this way. Something must have happened to make Sheik have such a blunt and passive, but honest personality. And Link wanted to know what it was that caused it. Sheik interested him._

_”Part of being a soldier of Hyrule is to have mercy.” He said to the Sheikah. “You cannot simply execute a man because he is labeled as a villain. He could have done a petty crime, he could have been wrongly accused, or he could atone and turn over a new leaf to be redeemed.” He explained. “I have yet to get used to taking a life even if it is a monster. In time, I will learn. But until then, I need to be able to trust someone who I will be working with for some time. I believe part of the reason you were ordered with the princess and I is because you have something her and I lack. I think working together with each other and not against will help this mission in a lot of ways._

_Silence rang between them for a few seconds. Sheik held his eyes on his for a time. Usually, Link felt he was being scrutinized every time this man so much as glanced at him. Analyzed every time he breathed. This time however, Link didn’t feel like Sheik was inspecting him to find any hint of malevolence. This time, it seemed like the Sheikah was just staring at him. Watching him. Almost like he was puzzled._

_”What’s going on? What happened?” The voice of the princess asked. Both of them took their eyes off eachother and saw the princess starring at them with curiosity. He watched as Sheik put the dagger, blood and all, back into its sheath._

_“Princess,” He began. “Another of these Bokoblin’s have been taken down. They seem to be appearing more often these days which indicates Ganon is trying to send a message._

_The princess looked toward Sheik. “What do you think the message is?”_

_“He’s sending us a threat. Toying with us. He’s steadily increasing the number of his troops so we can keep guessing he can send more.” The princess looked slightly confused. “In other words, he’s trying to convey that he has limitless soldiers ready anytime at his hands.”_

_The princess pursed her lips in thought before she directed her attention to the dead monster in the ground. She took out a vile from her pouch and kneeled down beside it. “We have to collect samples and send them to Purah then.” She said as the steady flow of blood from the wound on the monster began to bleed into the glass container. “Any foreign monster you encounter,” She began. “Kill it and call me. We need to know what they’re made of, their powers, and if they are artificial life.”_

_The princess shut the vile with a cork and looked up at him from the ground. “Link, may I ask you to take a photo of me with this sample? My father has asked of me to take pictures of where we have traveled for future reference.” She explained as she handed him the Sheikah Slate._

_Link offered her the hand that didn’t hold the slate as she took it and helped her up. “Thank you.” She said as she walked to the right of the Bokoblin. Link walked a few feet back as the princess held up the vile and forced a smile. Sheik stood beside Link and watched as he took a photo. The princess had something heavily weighing on her mind to cause her to look like that. The princess put the vile in her pocket and clapped her hands together. “Alright.” She said to them. “Let’s head toward the Gorons and then Akkala.” The princess instructed._

_With her mind set, the princess began walking back the way they had came before the woman and monster. Sheik looked at him before he followed the princess and fell into step with her. Link stared after Sheik for a few seconds before he took his place beside the two._

Link suddenly opened his eyes and looked around him. There was no sign of the princess or of Sheik. He remembered that encounter like he had been there. It was all so real. With the two gone, he was hit with a sudden sense of loneliness. Sheik was a soldier and of course there was the princess. The red eyes of Sheik were still in his head along with the man’s powerful words. The princess was in the castle fighting Ganon, so where was Sheik?

A sudden chill washed over Link, and immediately he knew he was being watched. He glanced down at the photo of the princess with the vile, and swiped his finger across the screen until it was back to the map. He put the slate back in its pouch, and began to walk again. He didn’t change his rhythm, and pretended he was oblivious.

The trees chose that moment to stop making noise. And that’s whenever Link heard it. The sound of rope being pulled back; A bow. Immediately, he unsheathed his sword and pivoted behind him with the now ready sword. An arrow was then headed straight for his head, which he deflected out of reflex. He didn’t even blink as it bounced off the metal with a clanking sound, before darting to his right.

There, he saw his opponent. A man with a white mask, and upside down red eye staring right at him. The man still held his bow to indicate he let the arrow fly, before he dropped his stance, put the bow away, and walked out of the trees and ruins. Link followed him with his eyes and didn’t dare blink. The man stopped walking whenever he was in the middle of the path, before he came to a full stop. Link didn’t remember much as of now, but he knew for a fact that that symbol was one of his enemies.

His opponent then reached behind him and slowly pulled out a shiny, sharp blade from the sheath on his back before he faced it at Link.

He expected as much.

They stare at eachother for a few more seconds, before both of them ran at eachother full speed; blades ready to kill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, this story won’t be abandoned.


	6. Chapter 6

Sheik’s suspicions were confirmed as their swords clanged together, before they dashed past eachother. The Sheikah Slate the man had been holding, the unbelievably quick reflexes the man demonstrated, and just the look of the man. The aura that resonated with him.

This was without a doubt, the hero.

He ceased all movement as he dug his feet into the dirt to stop all of his momentum. That hit had been very strong. Had the hero aimed a little higher, he would have done critical damage to his chest. Sheik noted that he couldn’t take too many hits from that kind of strength.

He jumped back a foot and spun around to face the man again. Sword on sword combat wouldn’t give him an advantage of any kind. He sheathed his sword. Sheik carefully examined the man in his entirety. The hero had a darker shade of blonde hair with captivating blue eyes. His stance was perfect for defense and offense with his sword at the ready. Sheik would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed.

_”Now that I have revealed his identity, will you go back on your word?” The king asked him. Sheik stared blankly at the castle beyond him. “No.” He answered._

_The king finally turned to look at him. “This decision is not an easy one.” He said to him. “I understand that this is life changing as it is life threatening, and yet,” his wise eyes stared at him. “You seem confident in your decision. Tell me Sheik, what do you plan to do?”_

He ran at the man as he unsheathed his dagger.

_He met the man’s sharp blue eyes. “As you said, I will make my own assessment.” He informed the man. “In the form of a test.”_

The hero’s eyes saw the dagger in his hand as he used his sword to block any vital points.

Sheik smirked.

_”I assume that as the hero, he will live up to the name.” He said as he observed how the man’s expression changed very slightly. “I’m in a situation between my honor and my word. As a man of both, I must find a balance of the two.” He titled his head very slightly. “Therefore, I have reached a compromise.”_

He grabbed something out of the pouch he carried.

_”I don’t know anything of this man as of now, other than everyone’s praising him of being a prodigy in combat.” He said to him. “I will personally fight him.” He finished._

Sheik threw what was in his hand to the ground and disappeared with a sudden flash of light.

_The king kept a strong poker face. “What are the terms of your fight?”_

The hero darted his head all around him as he searched for his opponent.

_”I do not intend to go easy on him. Whenever I fight, I always consider the possibility of killing or being killed. If he wins and spares me,” his jaw tightened. “Then I will accompany him through the land.”_

The man unconsciously lowered his guard.

_The king eyed him wearily. “And if you are victorious?”_

Sheik silently jumped out of where he was hiding and set his eyes on where to plunge the weapon.

_He didn’t blink. “Then his blood will be on my hands.”_

At the last second, the hero stopped a fatal blow as he abruptly turned to him and grabbed the blade of the dagger with his half gloved, leather hand. The leather of the hero’s glove began to tear as their arms both trembled over the amount of strength they were using. Sheik was pushing the dagger toward the man’s face with all his might as the other tried to push it away from him, making it stay in place.

The hero’s teeth clenched, and his eyes narrowed as he focused all of his power into making sure that blade didn’t plunge into his skull. Sheik used this opportunity to knee the man in the stomach.

Immediately, the man fell to his knees, which had his dagger dive straight for the man, only to have the hero do a back roll, and have his dagger plunge into the rocks.

The man’s breathing became uneven as he had gotten into a crouch position.

That was a very good move, but it had costed the man his sword. Sheik unrooted his dagger and kicked away the rusty weapon into the tangle of bushes, away from view.

The hero was very clearly injured as he made it a point to not pay any attention to where he had kneed him; This man was tough. With the hero now defenseless, Sheik had the upper hand here. He was about to attack the hero, but was caught completely off guard as the man had pounced on him without warning.

The hero’s deep blue eyes showed determination as they wrestled eachother. He raised his weapon up only to have the hero backhand it immediately out of his grasp. With no other weapon, they had to result to nothing but kicks and punches. The other had managed to get on top of him before Sheik had maneuvered his legs and kicked the man right in the face _hard._

He expected the man to be knocked back a couple of feet, but froze whenever the hero had barely had his head move an inch to the side. He was pretty sure the man didn’t even _blink._ All movement from the two ceased as Sheik paused in shock. The other seemed like all he got was a simple pinch on the nose.

The hero turned his head to the side and spat out blood before he turned back to him. It was as if he hadn’t been affected at all. Sheik felt a chill at the thought that maybe he didn’t actually hurt the man.

The other grabbed him abruptly by the front of his shirt and punched him square in the face. He felt dizzy and saw stars for a few seconds, but he quickly recovered and focused back to the matter at hand. He put his feet on the man’s chest and propelled backwards off of him.

He managed to get a couple of feet away from the hero, and immediately got to his feet. He then watched as the man had slowly stood up and didn’t show any sign of fatigue. Sheik noted how intimidating he looked as he kept his eyes trained on him. Before he could think of what to do next, the hero bolted at him while Sheik prepared to counter.

He got into a fighting stance and payed attention to how the hero reeled his right arm back. He was prepared for a heavy right hook, before the man changed positions and instead crouched down in front of him. Sheik’s eyes widened as he tried to step back, but the hero was faster.

Immediately, his head was forced upward as a vigorous strength connected with his chin. The man had delivered a phenomenal uppercut. Against his will, he fell flat onto his back and tried to blink away the sudden lightheadedness. The hero had nearly knocked him out cold.

His head urgently screamed at the rest of his body to reluctantly get up as his limbs suddenly felt impossible to lift. The hero wasn’t thinking about any of the moves he threw, and he really didn’t need to. That man had monstrous brute strength that he had never even come close to experiencing before. How could the hero get so many hits on him? He moved slow, but struck like a snake. Sheik had never seen a technique like that in his life. It seemed impossible, yet here it was being done.

There was no way he would beat the man like this.

Whenever he saw a silhouette in the rocks in front of him, he grabbed a handful of dirt with his hand, and threw it at the man’s face. It was a cheap move that he would normally never resort to, but this situation was dire. He had to win.

Pain shot through Sheik’s hand like fire before he remembered that he had injured it earlier. He glanced at his bandaged hand, and noticed blood seeping through it. The other shot his hands up to try and relieve the pain from his eyes, which was enough time for Sheik to get back on his feet and kick the man in the stomach. This time however, the hero was prepared as he barely moved an inch from his spot and continued to aid his eyes.

Sheik clicked his tongue in annoyance as he covered up his flaw with a right hook to the man’s head. The hero clearly hadn’t predicted that as he stumbled a bit to the left and finally dropped his hands to show his now redish eyes. The water in them had made them even more blue as they shone with anger. And all of it was directed right at him.

This time, both of them fought hand to hand. Sheik would throw a punch which the hero would usually counter, the other would throw a kick, and most of the time, Sheik dodged it. In hand to hand, they were equally matched. The truth in that thought had him clench his teeth in annoyance. He had beaten hundreds of trained men this way, and yet not one of them could keep up with his speed for more than thirty seconds. He had never been beaten once, and yet here was someone who could finally match his pace.

He seemed to be able to read the man very well despite never seeing, let alone experiencing his fighting technique. It was like a dance that both of them had perfected with years of training. It was timed, it was balanced, and both of them knew the tempo. The man struck with strength and heavy hits while Sheik preferred speed over anything else. If you could tire out your opponent, then you win. But that didn’t seem to be the case with the hero. He looked like he could last for hours, even days exchanging fists with him.

In an odd way, Sheik was grateful to fight someone like this. Had their circumstances been different, he would have definitely liked to fight him some more, but as of now that couldn’t be the case.

His eyes shifted for a millisecond to his discarded dagger, but the hero had seen, and immediately grabbed him to hold him in place. Sheik shoved the man off of him and bolted for the dagger, only to immediately kiss the ground before him as his legs were suddenly kicked out from under him.

He immediately crawled as urgently as he could to the weapon. He felt his fingertips graze it before he was violently dragged a good five feet away from his weapon. He turned his head to see the hero griping his ankles in an attempt to stop him.

He kicked one leg free and managed to maneuver his body to where his back was now on the ground so he could get a better angle at trying to kick the man off of him. But the hero had both of Sheik’s shins held tightly to his chest, and he didn’t budge.

Sheik reached into his pouch and pulled out an apple to throw at the man, but the hero immediately dropped to his knees without hesitation the moment he saw the red fruit. He used the new minimal height to his advantage as he leaned all of his weight on the hero, and now straddled the man.

He threw a punch down at the hero only to have him catch it just inches from his face. Sheik tried to yank his arm back, but the man didn’t let go. He looked behind his shoulder and saw the dagger in arms reach. But as soon as he saw it, the hero had forced him back and switched their positions.

Their chests were right against eachother and his own dagger was right at his throat in seconds. It felt like ice against his neck as he stared up at the man before him. The hero panted lightly and Sheik could feel the warmth of his breath briefly against both cloth barriers on his face. He didn’t even attempt to struggle as he stared blankly at the man on top of him.

Bitter defeat settled in his chest as he tried to level out his breathing. He had lost. Now it was up to the hero to decide if he would live or not.

A few long seconds passed by before the other seemed to realize he wasn’t going to struggle. He watched as all of the wrath slowly diminished from his eyes, and saw as a hand was suddenly reaching for his Yiga mask.

Sheik made no attempt to stop him as he watched the hero’s face as his mask was removed.

* * *

Link’s eyes widened a bit as he stared at the face below him. Analytical red eyes bore into his as they watched for his reaction. The man still wore that cloth around the bottom portion of his face which left him wondering how exactly the man looked. And another question remained.

Why had Sheik tried to kill him?

He slowly got off the man and rose to his feet. Confusion had completely taken over all of his thoughts. He was alive, Sheik was alive, there didn’t appear to be any signs of a war, and he almost just now got killed by what he gathered was a former comrade.

His head began to violently throb again as he winced in pain and sucked in a sharp breath.

Sheik stood up a few seconds later and held out a hand to him.

Link looked down at the hand, then back up at the man. What did he expect him to do?

After a few seconds, he heard the same voice that had been in his memories match up exactly the same to the other. “My dagger.” He said like it was obvious.

Link fought the urge to let out a humorless laugh at the man. He nearly killed him, and yet he expected his dagger to just be handed over to him like nothing had just happened? He had gotten dirt thrown in his eyes by the same man a few minutes ago.

“You’re crazy.” He said to Sheik.

The other didn’t appreciate being called that at all as he seemed to do one hell of a good scowl despite that mask. “I don’t have time for this.” He said impatiently.

Link wanted to confirm that this man was actually the exact same man from his memories. “Where is it you need to be,” He carefully watched his eyes. “Sheik.”

The moment that name left his lips, Sheik’s eyes widened and he stiffened. The other’s reaction had sent any little understanding of what was going on Link had out the window.

The man’s eyes had glazed over in intense concentration as he seemed to be wrapped up in nothing but thoughts. Finally, he snapped back into reality. Link had expected Sheik to have his voice shaking or at least sound unnerved, but he sounded as calm and leveled as he had seemed previously. “How do you know my name?” He had asked him.

Now it was Link’s turn to blank out. He barely knew who this man was, but Sheik didn’t seem to know him at all.

He eyed the other closely. Maybe he was faking? No, he would have definitely been able to tell.

Link had to choose his words carefully. “You don’t remember anything at all?” He asked him tentatively.

The man watched him suspiciously. “And you claim you do?”

Sheik didn’t know who he was, but the only reason Link knew at least part of this man was because of a picture he looked at on the Sheikah Slate.

Link jumped at the thought. That was it! He fumbled for the slate at his hip and slid his finger to where it showed him, Sheik, and the princess.

He took a step forward to the man. “Look at this.” He said as he pushed the slate his way.

Sheik was caught a little off guard with Link suddenly stepping up to him, but covered up his hesitation as he also took a step toward him. “Be careful with that.” He said before he snatched it from him.

Link waited for the man’s reaction, not wanting to get too close to him since he seemed very on edge.

Sheik said nothing for a long time as he stared unblinkingly at the image displayed on the screen. Finally, he met his eyes. “This still doesn’t explain how you know my name, hero.”

Link blinked. He had just shown him proof that they had previously known eachother, and this was all he had to say? Sheik had called him “hero” just like in the memory he had seen, but there was a high possibility the other knew who he was just by his title as the hero.

He took the Slate from the man before he swiped it to the photo of the princess and the monster’s blood. He had gotten his memory back from this picture, so maybe Sheik would too.

Link was a bit surprised that the other had let him get so close to him, but Sheik seemed more interested in the photo than him or the dagger. There stood the princess of the screen with her smile a little too forced and the vile displayed proudly in her hand.

He gave the Slate back to Sheik to hold and watched the man’s eyes. He watched his eyes dart all over the screen before they settled on the monster’s arm on the side of the screen. Whenever Link noticed he spotted the arm, he held his breath.

Then after a few agonizing seconds, Sheik looked up at him, his face not giving anything away.

”A beautiful girl.” The man said. “Tell me where you heard my name, hero.”

He stared at Sheik. He still didn’t remember him or the princess. Why had Link remembered something, but Sheik hadn’t?

Link and Sheik stared at eachother as the other was waiting for the answer to his question, and he was trying to think of how both of them somehow lost their memories. The King had only briefly brushed upon how his memories were wiped clean from his mind, and said he would gradually get them back if he went to Kakariko Village. But the man mentioned absolutely nothing about Sheik.

He believed the memory he had seen of the other more than anything since it was proof. Sheik clearly didn’t remember anything like he did, yet the other knew he was the hero. No matter which way he flipped it, memories or not, Sheik knew he was at least the hero, and yet he attempted to kill him.

He turned his attention to the mask and dagger Sheik had used. The dagger was the same one in the memory he saw, and this mask...

He stared at the upside down eye embedded on the white fabric. This symbol definitely looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember where. This was a symbol that gave him an uneasy feeling. And yet, Sheik had been wearing it.

Link frowned down at the red eye.

Something wasn’t right.


	7. Chapter 7

Sheik watched silently as the hero stared down at his Yiga mask, before he eyed his dagger in the man’s hand. The way the other carefully kept his gaze blank and showing nothing rubbed him the wrong way to some degree. As far as he knew, if he chose to believe the King, the hero should have no recollection of much. Somehow he knew his name, and now the man stared at a part of his uniform as if it were some kind of puzzle he didn’t have all the pieces to.

As he patiently watched the man scrutinize his mask, he began to actually get a good look at him and make an assessment of him. 

He let his haematic eyes look toward the man’s golden hair which seemed to be oddly neat despite the wind throwing it around as it desired. Then to his eyes which continued to be a locked door taunting him at the fact that he didn’t know how to open it. To his arms which were covered completely, but did show muscle indent as did his legs. Even with the little skin that was exposed, Sheik could see the man had no scars. Not even callouses on his hands despite being very familiar with weaponry. That meant he couldn’t have been training this entire time, and yet he showed perfect swordsmanship.

The hero who seemed to have no signs of harsh training somehow displayed it only in his battle. Sheik has trained with men who have fought and practice day and night to try and match up with that kind of technique. Bruises incredibly prominent, cuts adorning their skin, cracking bones echoing in his ears, and pools of blood beneath his feet all for the sake of killing the very man in front of him. A man who seems too fortunate for his own good. A man who spits in his soldiers faces with just his presence.

Finally, the hero looked up from the red and white on his mask and met his eyes with that same unchanging face.

Obviously, the hero tried to get him to remember something with showing him that Sheikah Slate. Presumably the king gave it to him, but the fact that it captured moments forever and stored it within itself was very intriguing to him. He wanted to know more. Maybe even take it once he finished accompanying the man and test it out himself.

“You attacked me.” He said to him. “You knew who I was, and yet you saw it fit to attempt to fight me.” The man told him. “Why is that?” 

Without missing a beat, Sheik replied. “I was testing you.” He said as he turned his attention back to the Sheikah Slate in his hand. What looked to be the princess smiled unnaturally at him. “Wanting to see if you lived up to your name as the hero.” He told him.

The hero’s seemingly blank expression changed a bit with a frown more evident on his lips. “And?”

“Well, you’re alive aren’t you?” He asked as he looked back up at the man. “Also, you might want to know that the king asked of me to seek you out.”

“Well that’s no surprise.” The hero responded.

Sheik then watched the man opened the pouch on his hip and placed his mask inside before closing it up again. “I’m sure you’ve already come to this conclusion, but you and I have met before.” He said before he thought more about it. “Actually, we’ve been companions with the princess is what I’ve gathered through only one memory I somehow recalled looking at the slate in your hand.”

He blinked as he thought of some of the words he’s heard people say about the hero. “Quiet,” “silent,” “resigned,” “stoic,” “intimidating,” “emotionless,” hell, even “mute.” Hearing all of these comments on how the man is rumored to be versus actually meeting him is... slightly contradicting. Slightly because he’s seen how the man can completely close his emotions off, but the other could really talk if he wanted to. 

“Although,” he heard the hero begin. “I don’t quite buy into the fact of you trying to fight me just because of some test the king or you yourself decided to execute. Not even the idea of you testing the idea of what’s said to be truth by some, and exaggeration by others.” He said as he leaned into his right foot.

“The way you attacked me had determination in every move you performed.” The hero inquired as he stared into his eyes. “A determination that absolutely did not want me to win.” 

Sheik kept his eyes leveled with the man. He’s taken note of this already, but this man was sharp. He has to be careful of what he would say. “Well,” He said as he handed the hero back the slate. “I thought I’d give my opponent my all. It would be an insult to do anything less.” 

The man didn’t lift his intense stare on him. And for a moment he worried if the man had somehow figured him out, before he was thrown completely off guard as the hero suddenly giving a small smile and lightly scoffing. “I suppose that makes sense.” He said.

Sheik knew he should probably be relieved since it looked like the other bought into his lie, but the way he brushed off something like not being even slightly suspicious of him made his blood boil. As if the hero just trusted whatever was said to him. Or so it seemed.

“Well Sheik,” A pause to check for a reaction out of him. “I’ll accept your excuse as of now, but for future reference, I would rather you speak the truth to me.” He said as he set the slate back in its own holster.

Right before he was about to say something back, a hand was met level with his eyes indicating the man wasn’t done. “You have your reasons.” The hero said. “We can sort out our situation later. What I’m interested in right now is getting to Kakariko Village before dark.” He said as he lowered his hand.

Kakariko Village. He’s been there numerous times on several different occasions. To recrute and to steal being the main reasons, but he’s also had to take out travelers who went there. Sheik had even asked his Master if he should take out Impa since she caused so many problems with their clan to which his glorious reply was, “Yeah, no.”

Sheik took in an inhale before he replied. “I know the place by heart, and I could take you there.” He said. “But, since I answered your question, you must answer mine too.”

The hero looked like he already knew what he would ask, but decided to humor him anyway. “And your question is?”

“Where did you learn my name?” Sheik demanded.

A small smile tugged at the other’s lips as he crossed his arms. “Well,” He began. “With learning that memory I saw, your name just happened to be used in it, and seeing your face, upon curiosity, I decided to use it.”

Sheik narrowed his eyes at him slightly. “Why?”

The hero, with that smile still set in place shrugged. “I thought I’d address my opponent.” That smile grew bigger. “It would be an insult to do anything less.”

He clenched his fists.

“Now now.” The hero said as he uncrossed his arms and was now holding up his hands as if to settle a riled up animal. “It’s only a jest.” He said. “But I mean it with what I said earlier. I want to know your actual reason, and I hope that you’ll want to tell me in time.”

He almost wanted to throw his head back and laugh cruelly at the man. No way would Sheik want to tell him any of the truth. What would the man do if he found out he’s part of the enemies?

His eyes widened. The hero saw his Yiga mask. Analyzed it even. If he asks Impa in the village what that symbol is, his cover will be blown!

Sheik began to think of possible solutions. But then stopped that train of thought as he suddenly saw the hero take out the Sheikah Slate. The man had placed his mask in that pouch. Showing it to Impa would cause his immediate execution.

Then, the hero put the slate back in its pouch. “I saw these two mountains on that map called the “Dueling Peaks” And I don’t know which way to go. I haven’t seen any mountains that massive yet.” The hero admitted.

Sheik decided to put the current problem aside and think about it once they actually got started on going to Kakariko Village. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Hero,” He began. “Look behind you.”

The other looked at him for a few seconds before he made sure he still had Sheik’s dagger in his hand, and glanced behind himself. There, in all their former glory, were the dueling peaks. A light red dusted the hero’s cheeks before he let out a chuckle. “Oh,” he turned back to Sheik with a small smile. “There they are.”

Sheik stared at the other. He had seen the man drive a sword through one of the monsters with a very serious expression, and now the exact same man was before him with a smile and embarrassment on his face. Honestly, he didn’t know what to think of the man at the moment. Unusual wasn’t the right word to use. More like shocking. The other seemed to have more of a personality than Sheik had been led to believe.

”Also,” The man said as he put his dagger in the same pouch he put his mask. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced yet.” He said. “I don’t really like you calling me ‘hero’ too much.” The hero held out his hand to him. “My name is Link.”

His red eyes looked at the man’s hand, then back up to his face. He never expected for a Hylian to dare shake hands with a Sheikah. But perhaps the hero didn’t know about how everyone thought about the Sheikah race as a whole. He hesitated only for a few seconds, before he slowly, cautiously brought his hand to the man’s.

”Hello, hero.” He began. “My name is Sheik.” 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow was this chapter fun to write! I’ll keep this short and sweet, thank you all so much for the support! I can’t even begin to express my gratitude! So many of you have been leaving me kudos and amazing comments and I just want to say how much I appreciate it! You don’t even know how happy I am! Thank you once again, and onto the story!

_Two pairs of footsteps echoed as they walked along the long corridor. Guards standing next to doors stayed as still as statues and eyed them as they walked by. The princess had her fingers laced together as she walked down through the enormous hallways with refinement. Link trailed after her. ___

____

_Zelda wore a neat blue dress that followed behind her as she walked and he imagined she had that same unsatisfied look on her face that never seemed to change._

____

_”This is embarrassing.” She said quietly to herself as they continued to walk. “To think that my father would ask for more assistance for me just because he cannot help his worries.” Zelda let out a quiet, defeated sigh as she seemed to walk slower._

____

_Honestly, Link didn’t know what to say to her. He knew she was frustrated that the king didn’t let her do anything on her own, and he’s seen how hard she’s worked whenever he’s had to accompany her during her training in the garden, but Zelda seemed like she wanted to awaken her power for her father more than anything else. As if she wanted to prove something to him. He’s tried to comfort her by staying beside her so she didn’t feel lonely, but that only seemed to fuel her dislike toward him even more._

____

_Link didn’t realize his eyes had trailed to the ground until Zelda came to a full to stop, causing him to look up to her. Her green eye was on him as she turned her head to look at him, before she closed her eyes and fully faced him._

____

_”You...” She began as her eyes strayed away from his. “What do you make of another joining us?” She asked with uncertainty. Despite her quiet tone, it echoed across the corridor._

____

_He noted how she had said “us” and took that as a sign of progress with their strained relationship. He couldn’t really blame her since her father just said one day that Zelda needed a bodyguard and made her knight him, to which she assured she didn’t need the extra assistance only to anger her father and have him tell her it wasn’t a choice._

____

_Link took a few seconds to choose his words. “Well,” He began. “If it benefits you, I don’t see a problem with it.”_

____

_Zelda’s eyes snapped to his with surprise. She stared at him for a few moments. “You speak.” She said in genuine awe._

____

_He didn’t know how to react to that. It’s true he’s never spoken any words to her since she vented about things to him a lot of the time and he just listened as she talked, but he didn’t expect her to look pleasantly surprised to hear him respond to her. Maybe he should talk more?_

____

_Her lips then formed a smile that was barely visible, but it was definitely there. “I heard the man is a Sheikah.” She said before she turned around and resumed walking. “What do you think of that?” Zelda finished with faked nonchalance._

____

_Link considered what he would say. As a knight, he didn’t give opinions, which was part of the reason why he decided to stay silent most of the time, but she had specifically asked him what he thought. “I haven’t encountered a Sheikah besides Impa before.” He replied. “But I hear they’re soldiers that are more than capable in handling combat.”_

____

_Zelda slowed her walking speed until she was right beside him. She smiled. “So you’re looking forward to meeting him then?” She asked._

____

_He weighed that accusation. “I suppose you could say that.”_

____

_The princess seemed absolutely delighted to hear his replies to her. It wasn’t as if he didn’t speak at all. He did if he had to, but being a soldier tasked with protecting the royal family, you had to learn when and when not to speak. And unfortunately, not speaking was a big part of his job._

____

_Zelda looked tense before, but her shoulders were completely relaxed and for the first time, she had a content expression. They continued down the corridor in comfortable silence until she stopped in front of two huge doors. The two guards on either side of it walked over to the handles, and pulled it open._

____

_Three people were in the room. The king, Impa, and a man whose face Link couldn’t see. All three of them turned to him and the princess. Zelda gulped before she walked toward them. Link waited a few seconds before he trailed behind her. It was considered improper to walk beside a royal without the same status._

____

_“Ah, Zelda.” The king said as he saw the two of them. “Come meet your new,” a pause. “Sentinel.” He finished._

_Link and the princess stood close to the king as they looked at the other two. Impa smiled gently at all of them as she slowly took out a paper. “I received this from you a few days ago.” She said to the king. “I imagine that the short notice was due to your sudden complicated predicament. I’m sure that,”_

_As she talked, his eyes wandered to the man standing beside her. The man had almost all of his face covered with some kind of cloth, and had bright blonde hair, golden even, and... red eyes._

_Never in his life has Link ever seen someone with such eyes. He leaned a little towards the man to see if they were actually some shade of bright brown, but with the hue and intensity they showed, there was no way they were any other color. They practically looked like two pools of blood._

_Suddenly, those eyes that he was admiring were turned to him. Now that they were fully facing him, they seemed to be more intriguing. They reflected erudition and power, but also omission. Seeing such a thing made Link wonder what this man has seen._

_The more he stared at the man, the more he realized it probably wasn’t polite for him to stare so openly, but he somehow couldn’t look away._

_Then, almost all at once, the trance was broken as the man looked back to paying attention to Impa. “Your majesty.” She said with her aged voice. “I have a terrible feeling that something is coming. I’m honored that you have asked the Sheikah tribe to help in this endeavor.” She said with a small bow._

_Impa then turned her attention to the man. “I have brought our best warrior from our tribe.” She said with pride. “I know he will go beyond your expectations with whatever you may ask of him.” She put a hand on the man’s back. “His name is Sheik.”_

_The man, Sheik, bowed before the king. Link expected him to say something to the monarch, but he continued to stay silent._

_The king merely gave the man a glance of disparagement before he looked at the older woman. “I trust your judgement, Impa.” He said. “Thank you.”_

_Impa smiled kindly before she put the paper back in her robe. “I must go.” She said to him. “I have a summit I must attend shortly.”_

_The king closed his eyes and gave a small nod. “Of course.” He said._

_As soon as the king gave his acknowledgment, the older woman smiled at Sheik, before she quickly walked out of the enormous room._

_Whenever that door closed, the king turned to the princess. “Zelda, please excuse us.”_

_She watched her father for a few moments before she bowed and began to walk away. Link barely took a step intending to follow her, before the king spoke. “Not you Link.” His voice echoed._

_Zelda’s eyes looked at him, and then her father, before she continued on her way out of the door._

_That only left him, the monarch, and Sheik in the giant room. Link turned around and took his place once again beside the king before the man spoke to him._

_“Tomorrow, you, the princess and the Sheikah,” The king glanced at the man. “Sheik,” he corrected. “Are to set out for Hyrule. Do anything you find necessary to awaken her power.” He stood up straighter and stared him down. “My only condition is you make sure she stays safe.” He said._

_In response, Link got down to one knee, and kneeled before the king. As a knight, you weren’t supposed to answer an order in voice, but in action. You showed your utter compliance and understanding to your king with whatever he tasks you with. He kept his head bowed in deference for a few seconds, before he stood up to be met with a coerced stare. “I mean it.” The man warned. His words lingered for a few moments before his stern expression lightened up just a bit._

_”Also, escort Sheik to the knight’s chambers and let him know how things work around here. After all of you come back from your expedition, he will be staying with us for some time.” He said before he payed Sheik one look, one filled with enmity, and walked out of the room._

_Link watched the back of the king completely leave the room before he turned to the last occupant in the room. Sheik was already looking at him._

_The huge room rang with silence as all noise ceased. Seeing as Sheik looked like he wouldn’t speak, Link decided he would take the initiative. The man looked to be about the same age as him. He’s heard of the way people have treated the people in the Sheikah tribe, and seeing the way the king looked at this man meant what he’s heard was probably true. That didn’t seem to be the first time Sheik has received looks like that, so maybe treating him with respect would help out._

_”Hello,” He began. “My name is Link.” He thought about the way Zelda smiled at him. It gave him a sense of something he did right. It was welcome, and it made her seem congenial. He gave Sheik a genuine smile. “I look forward to working with you.” He said as he held out his hand to the man in greeting._

_Whenever he smiled at the man, Sheik clearly didn’t expect that with the way his eyes showed surprise, and whenever he offered his hand to him, the man looked alarmed. Then, once it seemed that the other processed what just happened, his expression and stance shifted into one that was completely guarded. Finally, Sheik circumspectly took Link’s hand into his. “Likewise.” He said in a monotone voice. “I hope we can work well together, hero.” The man said._

_His smile dropped a bit from his face. The tone of his voice, the way he looked at him, it seemed void and hostile. It was only then whenever he noticed something else. His blue eyes caught the way Sheik’s eyes looked at him. He couldn’t see it, but he knew that behind that mask was a frown. And a deep one at that._

_No words needed to be spoken for him to know that Sheik had formed some kind of negative conjecture on him._

Link blinked a few times as his head suddenly began to ache again. Pounding in his head that was almost punishing him for viewing that memory.

Haematic eyes stared at him. “What is it?” Sheik asked as let go of his hand.

He dropped his hand right after him and looked incognizantly around them. The huge room he was in just moments ago was now the open wilderness, the giant doors now trees, and the marble floors were now dirt that formed a path.

”Hero.” The same voice said to him.

He put a hand to the pounding on his head for some kind of relief with no avail. He looked over to Sheik as the same bright eyes he had been fascinated by watched him. But somehow, they looked very different than the ones he just saw. The eyes he was looking into now held emotion.

”What is it?” Sheik repeated.

Link knew the man before him was hiding a number of things, but blatantly asking him wouldn’t result in any sort of success. For now, he had to play along with what Sheik was doing. The man said he ‘tested him’ and never mentioned what his end goal was.

He tried to soothe the excruciating pain by taking a deep breath and exhaling. “It’s,” He took a moment to think about it. “Just a dull pain.”

Sheik didn’t look convinced. ”Something relating to a memory?”

Link honestly wanted to trust the other. There was so much to learn from him, and telling him the truth seemed like the right way to go. “Yes.” He confirmed.

Sheik studied him for a few seconds, before he turned his attention to the mountains. “We should get going.” He said as he turned around and began walking toward the two large rock formations.

The intense pain he was experiencing was now beginning to fade. Link found himself waiting a few seconds before he trailed after Sheik. He surprised even himself with that kind of instinct.

He fell into step beside the man as they walked in silence. It wasn’t awkward perse, but it definitely wasn’t comfortable either. He looked around him and wondered just how he could forget a land this big. It baffled him how he didn’t know certain names until he suddenly got them from an alarmingly vivid memory. It amazed him just how real it seemed. As if he were there in that moment. As if the people in his memories were talking right in front of him.

It was an odd phenomenon that he still didn’t completely grasp the concept of. Why did his head hurt after? Why was it so real? How was it triggered? And what he really wanted to know was how long it was in real time.

”What did I do?” He asked the man next to him. “After I shook your hand?”

Sheik looked like he was in deep thought before he had just been taken out of it. “Your eyes stared at our hands for a second,” he explained as he recalled. “Before you stared blinking and wore an expression that said you didn’t know where you were.” He said before he turned to him. “What did you see?”

Link met Sheik’s eyes as they walked. He didn’t know if he could trust the man just yet. What if something had changed in these many years and now the person walking next to him was now an enemy?

”I saw...” he trailed off as he looked toward the mountains. He recalled the memory of walking next to Zelda, seeing Impa’s kind eyes, Bowing before the king, and the _very_ first time he’s ever met Sheik. “You.” He said. “Our first encounter.”

The other looked like he wanted to press him for details, but he instead turned his attention to the giant mountains as well. “It sounds as if your memories are tied to triggers.” He said. “That means your memories missing is no accident. Someone planned this.”

Those words made him sink with dread. Someone had planned this? “That doesn’t make any sense.” Link told himself more than he told Sheik. “For one, how could they have done it, and second of all, if that’s true, whoever hypothetically did this wouldn’t have a logical reason as an ally, and even if it’s instead a villain, then why would they leave a way for me to get them back?”

His eyebrows furrowed the more he thought about that kind of accusation. “What could they have not wanted me to remember if that’s the case?” He murmured to himself.

Sheik stayed silent for a moment. “Quite an extreme reaction.” The man commented. “Truth be told, I haven’t heard of anyone that has the power to manipulate the mind other then word of Hylia herself.” He said. “But these circumstances are too strange to simply dismiss them as a coincidence. And further more, if someone did intend this,” His words trailed off as he thought more about something.

“Then they have powers equivalent to matching a God.”

Link didn’t say anything for a few seconds. What could he say? If Sheik was actually right, then that meant the threat they were against was something far more sinister than he had been been led to believe. “Maybe Impa will know more about that.”

Sheik immediately looked over to him. “You know who Impa is?”

Link nodded a little uncertainly as he thought of her. An older woman with an astute aura. He remembered this very clearly about her. “Kind of.” He said. “I’ve met her, but vaguely. I don’t know very much about her other than she’s an older woman renowned by the king for her wisdom.”

The other seemed to be satisfied with this answer as he turned away. “Impa is the leader of the Sheikah race.” The man explained to him. “She’s known all across the land for her sagacious insight, and has even been rumored to have seen the very first hero in person.” He said.

Link’s eyebrows raised in shock. He did recall her hair gray and skin delicate with wrinkles, but the _very_ first hero? Just how long ago was that? He blinked. Maybe it was best if he didn’t know.

He looked up whenever he noticed the light that was originally right in his face was now covered, and a cooler feeling made its way on his person. He didn’t notice before, but the two mountains he saw in the distance weren’t actually two mountains at all. It was one that was split into two.

He looked in awe at the two pieces. It was clear something broke this enormous mountain and split it down the middle. Link couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of power would be able to cause that.

“Riveting, isn’t it?” Sheik asked as he noticed his expression.

He had the feeling the other was saying this in a mocking way, but this did genuinely interest him. “Do you know how this happened?” He asked. The man seemed to know a lot about the land, and maybe this was no exception.

Sheik looked at one of the giant natural formations with an expression he couldn’t distinguish. “Unfortunately, I don’t.” He admitted. “Though I imagine something interesting caused it.”

Sun was once again directly in his eyes as he squinted and held up a hand to shield the light. It wasn’t a very long path to take, but walking through that mountain did take up a few minutes. Both of them were now bathed in warmth as they had made it through the originally huge mountain.

”High noon.” The man next to him said as he seemed to be able to look directly into the sun with no problem.

”Don’t you fear you’ll go blind if you stare so openly into the flare?” He asked the man.

He swore he saw the corners of the man’s eyes turn, indicating he was slightly smiling.“Not at all.” Sheik responded as he began to make his way toward the bridge up ahead.

Unfortunately for him, the sunlight did offend his eyes if he didn’t take precautions to shield them, but he caught up to the other right as soon as the other stepped a foot on the bridge. The water was running at a pretty quick pace and splashed at the edge of the bridge. It seemed to be very old, but still looked incredibly sturdy.

He began to feel sort of hungry, and took out a gorgeous red apple before he bit into it. Honestly, he didn’t have much food besides some fruit, mushrooms, and a baked apple that the king had given to him.

As he chewed, he looked over to the man next to him, and rummaged for whatever he got his hands on in his pouch before he pulled out a banana. “Are you hungry?”

Sheik turned to him and looked at what Link was offering him. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes seemed to darken a bit before he turned his attention back ahead to the path.

He stared genuinely confused at the man for a few seconds. He held it up for a few more seconds in case the man changed his mind, before he put the banana back his pouch. Did he just offend him?

Link was about to apologize before a man on a horse stopped in front of them. “Good day gentlemen.” The man said with a nod. “Would you be interested in buying baked goods for your travels?”

He was caught a little off guard at the man’s sudden arrival since he had his full attention to the person next to him. Sheik stood there as he was probably waiting for Link to send the man on his way. He turned his attention back to the man, only for the horse to snatch his apple from his hand and practically gulp it down before he could even blink. “Oh, no we’re okay.” He barely managed to pull his fingers away from the horse as it’s teeth clicked together, missing it’s intended target.

”Alright then. Carry on.” The man said before him and his hungry horse trotted away.

The two of them hadn’t encountered anyone, and seeing a face he’s truly never seen before did catch him off guard. That’s why whenever he saw a huge horse head in view, he couldn’t even begin to question or even react to how in the world this somehow didn’t catch his eyes. Did he have no peripheral vision?

He saw at least nine people in the stable. Two men were playing cards against eachother, one man with an eyecatching outfit was carrying an even _more_ eyecatching pack on his back which looked about twice his size, a sleeping woman, and a mother and daughter brushing the hair of the horses.

Link almost wanted to go into the stable and talk to some of the people who were smiling and laughing in there, but Sheik seemed to pick up his pace as they passed by. “Let’s go.” He said to him. “The village isn’t very far from here.”

He didn’t realize he stopped to observe the people in the stable until he had to jog up to Sheik and quicken his pace with his. The man seemed to have very odd reactions at times. For example, the other seemed to be more or less fine with him, but it didn’t look like he liked other people. It struck Link in a... curious way. “Hey Sheik?” He started. “What part of the land did you come from?”

The response he got was immediate. ”Would you be willing to answer the same?”

That response caught him off guard. He honestly didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t that Link _wouldn’t_ answer him, it’s just that right now didn’t seem to be an appropriate time.

Realization suddenly dawned upon him. Oh. “I apologize.” He said. “Another time then.”

That only earned him with an odd look from Sheik. It didn’t seem like a negative one, but one that said he wasn’t expecting that kind of response from him.

Link was curious about how their relationship would progress. What were Sheik’s intentions? He knew a little about the other with these memories he’s been getting, but there were still huge chunks missing. Just small puddles that led to a vast ocean he may never see. The mystery on how they even ended up like this was still a persisting thought that kept poking at him. Just how did this happen in the first place?

It was still too early to make assumptions, but it seemed to him that they would be together for sometime. Well, at least that thought wasn’t an unwelcome one.

A high pitched shriek froze both of them in their tracks. ”Someone help me!” Came a woman’s voice ahead of them.

A woman with brown hair in two pigtails was running from a tiny monster, a Bokoblin if he recalled. It let out a squeal as the blue-skinned monster chased her with a sword.

Link’s eyes widened and his heart sunk as he recalled this exact same situation. “Hero!” He heard Sheik say with urgency. “Give me my dagger back!” He looked back at the woman to see her trip and fall as the creature gained on her rapidly.

He put his hand on the pouch that had Sheik’s dagger unconsciously at the other’s mention of it before he looked back at the woman. Her face reflected the exact same horror and dread as the other woman he remembered.

_”You hesitated.”_

Her screaming filled his ears as the man next to him still demanded his weapon back. She was too far and he lost the rusty sword he was using during his fight with Sheik. Not only that, but he didn’t know how to fight with daggers. Everything that could possibly to go wrong in this situation was. As of now, he couldn’t trust Sheik, the woman was twenty feet away, and he didn’t have a weapon he could use to fend off the monster.

_”We both know monsters are merciless creatures who will always go in for the kill.”_

His heart pounded in his ears, drowning out the desperate pleas from the hostage and demands from the person beside him. He instinctively ran at the monster and frantic woman in front of them in blind panic.

Link knew it was reckless, and dangerous, but he didn’t have any other choice. He sprinted toward the pair and watched the angry looking monster jump at the woman with the blade ready to hurt her.

And in some sick coincidence, she tripped over herself and fell on her back in her scrambling to get away from the thing. As he saw the poor woman’s face, a thought crossed his mind: In this moment who was more terrified?

The innocent with helplessness and tears in her desperate eyes, or him; the hero who was supposed to protect her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay! Almost two months of not updating is unacceptable! I’ll make sure to update again sometime next week. Thank you so much for your patience!

Whenever Sheik saw a monster chasing a hostage, he knew that was his golden opportunity to get his weapon back. As expected, the hero was at a complete loss on how to handle the situation.

The hero was known for wielding a sword, which meant he probably wouldn’t be experienced in combat with a dagger, and a damsel in distress would ignite the hero’s urgency to save the hostage. He thought that shouting at the overwhelmed man would make him act impulsively, and as a result, give him back his dagger whenever he offered to help save the hostage. Which did almost happen.

But apparently the hero was more cautious than he had originally assumed. This man did not trust him. A wise decision, but a setback on his part.

The hero practically darted toward the hostage and the monster in an attempt to reach the two before the woman got hurt.

The terrified woman kicked the monster in her blind panic and hysteria to try to get it away from her. The action didn’t do much, but it was a force strong enough to make the thing stumble back for just a moment. This effort on her end managed to be just enough time for the hero to jump in front of her with nothing to fend off the creature.

The blue monster was about the hero’s height, but it’s wide frame made it look a lot bigger. Sheik has tried to fight with a knight’s sword on a few different occasions. They are actually a lot harder to wield since they’re heavier than they look. That’s why he favored light weapons like daggers. Perhaps the hero wasn’t even attempting to use Sheik’s dagger because he’s used to the weight of swords and heavier weaponry.

As soon as the hero stepped in, the monster paused to take in the sight of the hero standing his guard in front of the panicked woman. Then in the next moment, it swung at the two without a second thought.

The woman practically screamed her lungs out as she scrambled back a few feet. She watched with fear as the target of the monster went from her to the hero.

Whenever he realized the hero was no longer paying attention to him, he slowly relaxed his urgent stance.

He watched the hero hold his ground with the snarling creature. The other still had his dagger with him. Pity. He’d have to retrieve it some other way.

The hero clumsily took a hold of the monster at its torso once it got close enough, and managed to harshly throw it down with the weight of his body. Sheik still couldn’t believe the brute strength this man had. And the recklessness along with it. That monster would probably be able to rip any normal person right in half if it desired.

Sheik did have his katana with him still. He could give it to the hero right now if he wanted to. Maybe even gain his trust that way. But it didn’t matter to him if the man died or not. The man dying seemed to actually be the best option for him, and seeing how far the man could go with that inhuman strength of his was also entertaining.

Honestly, the only thing keeping the other alive right now was his promise to the king and his own insatiable thirst for answers.

Right now he wouldn’t make an active effort to kill him, but that didn’t mean he had to help him either.

He watched as the hero wrestled with the monster in trying to get the sword out of its grip. The monster kept letting out it’s animalistic shrieks as it tried to throw off the hero by violently struggling in his hold.

The trembling mess of the woman stood up cautiously as she took in the sight. She didn’t dare look away at the pair while she pat herself down frantically. She was searching for something.

Her distressed expression seemed to deepen if that was possible, indicating she didn’t find what she was searching for. Immediately after, she slid the bag she was carrying off her shoulders and got on her knees to search through it.

Sheik watched her shuffle through the things in her bag before she pulled out a frying pan, and before he could even blink, she threw the iron next to the hero.

”Beside you!” The woman managed to squeak out.

Without even turning his attention from the monster, the hero used one hand to hold the monster down, and the other to pat the ground urgently, before he found the frying pan, grasped the handle, and didn’t waste a second as he bashed the iron straight on the monsters face with tremendous force.

Almost immediately, it ceased its ear wrenching shrieks and stilled.

The woman cautiously looked around the hero to the monster, and as soon as she caught sight of it, her face morphed into horror. She looked extremely ill, and turned away from the gruesome scene before her to empty her stomach.

He couldn’t blame her. The sight was not pretty.

The hero huffed a few times to regain himself before he slowly looked from the corpse to him. The expression on his face was uneasy. Sheik knew the thoughts going through that man’s mind was no doubt something akin to disappointment.

Well it was the hero’s own fault for getting his hopes high.

After the woman was finished, she began to hiccup violently, and dropped to her knees. He watched as her eyes stared through the ground in front of her, and tried to process what just happened.

Soon her hiccuping turned into short, loud, gasps of air while she used her arms to hug herself tightly. Him and the hero were at a loss for what to do as Sheik stared at her, and the hero stared at him as if asking what they should do. Neither of them knew how to handle a civilian having a full panic attack in front of them.

After a few more seconds of this, the hero turned his attention to the monster who’s head he had just caved in. He stared at the mess in front of him with a deep frown and furrowed eyebrows, before he stood up, turned around, and made his way to the woman.

Sheik watched the hero with curiosity as the man stopped behind the woman. He looked like he was about to say something, but kept reconsidering it.

He watched the man’s eyes brighten with an idea, before his face read doubt. Finally, the hero settled with putting a hand on her shoulder.

Immediately, all sounds from her ceased as she took a sharp inhale and went as stiff as a board.

The hero clearly didn’t know what to do after that as his expression became an uncomfortable one, and he awkwardly pat her shoulder.

The woman hiccuped once, before she began to sob violently. Tears began to collect in her eyes only to run down her cut cheeks and trickle from her chin.

Sheik only then realized that this was traumatic for her. Violence and death was something she had probably never experienced before. Fearing for your life, running at something with every intention to kill it, blood wounds, and watching something die was a part of his life. And it seemed the hero was no stranger to it either.

To them, this was nothing new. Nothing to give a second thought about. However, to someone like this woman, it was life changing. She didn’t need to fight or kill for anyone. Not even for herself.

She was someone who was still capable of being disturbed by something like this and hadn’t become numb to death.

Sheik hadn’t thought to consider something like this for a very long time. To actually consider someone else’s feelings besides his Master’s.

The woman’s cries of agony began to quiet down gradually while the hero stood there patiently with his hand still on her shoulder. As some time passed with him simply resting his hand on her, he didn’t look as tense anymore, and even with his small effort, she was evidently calming down.

After she was calm enough to regain herself, the woman took the hero’s hand with her own, and maneuvered her body to face him. She joined her other hand with the one holding his, and kissed the back of his hand.

Sheik grimaced at the fact that this woman had thrown up and placed her lips on the other’s blood covered gauntlet. The hero in turn looked thrown off guard by her actions, but he didn’t look disgusted. In fact, after he processed what she did, he looked at this woman with sympathy.

She took a few stuttering breaths while she closed her eyes. “Thank you.” She choked out genuinely in gratitude.

Her hair was messy, her clothes were disheveled, her face was tear stained, bruised, scratched and her eyes were red. In every aspect, this woman was a mess. Yet somehow she still managed to look absolutely beautiful whenever she raised her head and smiled brightly at the hero.

She was still able to show optimism despite being mentally scarred and witnessing death for the first time. How could this woman actually smile after all of that?

Sheik didn’t understand.

Whenever the woman’s words left her lips, the hero stood in shock once again. The look he showed wasn’t one of awe, but genuine surprise. Almost as if the man hadn’t ever been thanked before. Interesting.

He honestly wondered what he was thinking. What _did_ you think in this situation?

The woman then let go of the hero’s hand and stood up slowly. She breathed in deeply before exhaling out, and picked up her backpack. “I don’t have much...” She said as she fished through her bag. “But I hope this will suffice.” She held out a small brown bag for him to take.

”Oh,” He said as he saw the package. “It’s fine.” He assured her.

“Please.” She nearly pleaded. “I want to help you in some way.” The way her eyes stared at the hero reminded him of other Hylian civilians he’s encountered. Except that expression on them was more desperate and lasted only for a second.

The hero paused for a few seconds, before he took what she was offering. “Thank you.” He said as he opened up his pouch _(the one with his dagger still in it)_ and placed the package inside it.

”Those were cooked today.” She said as she indicated where he put the package. “I hope you like them.” She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear while she threw her bag back over her shoulder. “I truly appreciate what you’ve done for me. May Hylia watch over you.”

”The same to you.” The hero told her with a smile. The woman returned the favor before she spun on her heel and faced Sheik’s way with the intention of continuing on, before she spotted him.

Her smile immediately dropped from her face once her eyes met his. She looked at him with shock. It seems she didn’t notice him there the entire time. Then after a few moments, she looked angry. Her mouth opened to say something, before four men appeared around them completely out of nowhere.

Sheik instinctively reached to the sheath of where his dagger was only to remember it was with the hero, and saw the hero do something similar as he reached to an empty sword sheath on his back.

Everyone was still for a moment. The four men surrounded them in a box-like formation, him and the hero were prepared to fight off the men, and the woman darted her head around the scene clearly startled. One of the men spoke to the woman. “You may leave.” He dismissed. The woman frowned a bit and visibly began to stiffen. She was considering her options before she decided to listen to the man, and walked quickly toward the bridge behind them.

The man who had spoke looked to the hero, and then slowly transitioned to him. His eyes were a deep auburn color that held distrust. At a distance you could mistake his hair as white, but upon closer inspection it was the color of ash.

The man appeared unarmed, but Sheik knew full well he had a weapon on him somewhere. This man was still relatively young and wore beige robes. Then, the Sheikah man’s eyes flickered over to one of his colleagues before settling back on his again.

Immediately after, the man he looked over to walked closer to Sheik and stopped a few feet behind him.

He made sure to keep his eyes and body relaxed. Having a mask on was convenient in hiding identity, but since others can’t judge your reaction by a mask, they then turn to your body language.

The man staring at him finally looked away from him and at the hero whenever his friend was closer to Sheik.

”It’s an honor to meet you, Master Link.” The man told the hero with a respectful nod. “Forgive us for our rude arrival. However, we had to be sure it was really you.”

They had been watched. Not by just one or two men, but four in total. He didn’t feel any eyes on him or sense their presence because he had let that woman distract him. The only kind of leeway he could reason with was the fact that all four men were Sheikah.

The hero shifted from one foot to the other as his blue eyes stared at the man.“You were watching this entire time?” He questioned.

”Yes.” The man confirmed. “We had heard screaming and came to investigate. We saw that device at your hip and took it upon ourselves to confirm you really are who we thought you were.”

His eyes looked from the Sheikah Slate to the hero’s face to catch what he could be thinking, but the man didn’t give anything away. The hero proved to be expressive if he wanted to, but intentional or not, the other was good at controlling his body language. The hero didn’t give away what he was thinking, and simply listened to the man talk.

“Truly you are a force to be reckoned with.” The man said as he looked over to the creature. “Killing a monster and saving a hostage is not something just anyone can do.” The man said as his eyes were suddenly on him.

They lingered before returning back to the hero’s. “Lady Impa has been expecting you for some time, sir.” He told him. “On her behalf, we ask that you come with us and meet her right now.” He stated to him.

”Of course.” The hero said. “Give me just a moment.” He told the man who seemed to be the leader of this group.

All eyes were on the hero as he walked past the other men and to the monster. He knelt down and took the sword covered in dirt from its unmoving hand. The man looked like he was studying it as he took a few moments to turn it at every visible angle, before he stood up and turned around to walk back to them.

The hero kept his eyes downcast on the sword while he walked to them. He dragged one flat side of the weapon across his blood stained shirt and turned it around to do the same to the other side. Seemingly satisfied, he came to a stop and glanced at the now clean blade. He sheathed it to meet the eyes of the leader of the group. ”Alright, let’s go.” He said to the man.

All of the dirt on the sword was now on his shirt which was proudly displayed to all of them. All four of the men didn’t know how to react. Silence stretched among them for a few seconds before Sheik scoffed in amusement at the hero’s choice of actions and the way the men had reacted.

Clearly none of them had expected the hero to carelessly wipe away the sword’s dirt on his own shirt just to clean the blade. If someone else had done something like that, perhaps they wouldn’t have reacted the way they did.

However, his display of amusement earned him a look from the leader of the group of Sheikah. “Follow us.” The man said to the hero once his eyes left his.

The man turned and began walking once the hero was close enough. He turned to one of his men and said something quietly to him before turning to the other and doing the same. As soon as the man pulled away, the two men gave the leader a subtle nod and walked over to the monster’s body.

Sheik watched as the men struggled a little to pick up the creature’s body, before they got a hold of it and carried it to the river where he presumed they were going to dump it.

From the corner of his eye, the same man who had been close to him earlier hadn’t left his side or took his eyes off of him. Obviously, the leader told him to watch him.

Sheik turned around and began to walk behind the hero and the leader, while his personal guardman walked in step with him.

The men probably didn’t trust him for a variety of reasons. He was a Sheikah they haven’t seen before, he was with the hero for reasons they didn’t know about, and since they had been watching them, he didn’t help the hero or the hostage making him look suspicious. Perhaps if he had thrown the hero his katana, they wouldn’t look at him with as much distrust as they were.

Seeing distrust from people part of his own clan reminded him of his Master and his words about the Sheikah race. He would always tell Sheik about how moronic their race was for turning on eachother if anyone so much as mentioned the hero or the royal family in a negative light.

His Master was a cheerful man, but anytime someone so much as mentioned the Hylian race, his carefree aura turned sour.

He had never truly understood what the man was talking about whenever he told Sheik stories of how the Sheikah clan had betrayed his Master and the Yiga Clan. He would get sent on expeditions to Kakariko Village, but he never needed to speak to any of them besides traitors.

Of course he knew his Master wasn’t lying about his encounters with the rest of their race, but Sheik had never got to experience first hand what the man was talking about until now.

_Seated next to eachother, they focused on the task at hand. It was late and they were alone. Silence, until his Master suddenly spoke. ”Insufferable Hylians.”_

_The room was barely illuminated with only a single candle to dimly light the dark room. They were both tired, but they had to read through troop reports._

_Sheik stopped where he was reading and looked over to the man. His eyes looked at the man next to him, before he noticed how fixated his Master was on what was in front of him. He read over the report the other was looking intently at. The paper reported a Hylian that somehow managed to kill one of their men. Disbelief was an understatement. He could hardly imagine it._

_”Our tribe is ignorant, Sheik.”_

_He shifted his gaze from the paper to his Master’s face. “The Sheikah are far superior than all other races in this land, and yet we rely on the Hylians. We simply allow them to do whatever they want with us. Hurt us. Take advantage of us. Slaughter us.” His features darkened. “It’s disgusting.”_

_Sheik stayed silent._

_“I wonder what we could have become if the story of the hero and the princess never reached us.” He pondered. “How far we could have advanced if Impa hadn’t persuaded us to listen to the Hylians. If we had fought back whenever they massacred us all into near extinction.” His bright vermilion eyes finally looked up from the report to Sheik._

_”Almost all of our clan, our own blood... they hate us Sheik.” He stared at him. “They hate us for trying to get them to open their tainted, discolored eyes. And they know we can get them to do just that. All we need to do is give them a rude awakening. To force them see something that would crush any faith they have for the Hylians. Once we do that, finally, they will embrace the truth.”_

_The truth, huh? Ironic since their clan was named solely around the concept of truth._

_“What would they need to see?” He asked quietly._

_His Master stared at him for a few seconds before his haematic eyes crinkled up to show amusement; a smile._

_”Their precious hero dead.”_


	10. Chapter 10

One Sheikah man guiding him the way to the village, while two more footsteps walked behind him. All of them didn’t say anything as they followed the dirt path acting as their guide.

Right now he would usually try to find out more about what was going on since there were two Sheikah men that seemed more than willing to answer any questions he had, but as of right now he really wasn’t in the mood to talk.

His mind kept thinking of that woman that was in trouble, and yet Sheik didn’t do anything to help her. The only thing he did was yell for his dagger back and then stand there whenever Link didn’t give it to him. He knew he shouldn’t be disappointed. He just didn’t know why he was.

Link didn’t even know he’d let his hopes for Sheik get so high until he killed that monster and looked over at the other to see him only watching him. What was Sheik’s end goal? What did he want from him?

Sheik didn’t even do anything whenever that poor woman started having a mental breakdown in front of them. He hated not seeing the rest of Sheik’s face. He hated not knowing what that man was thinking. How could he want to still give Sheik a chance despite the other not seeming to care about others?

If there is one thing Link knew he absolutely has, it’s patience. He’s willing to do all of this for the king and let his memories come whenever they want to. And yet Sheik came into all of this so unexpectedly that it’s making him question himself. What he really wants to know right this very second is if Sheik truly is an ally.

His memories say yes, but as of now that doesn’t seem to be the case giving the others actions.

He took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh before he remembered there were other people around him. Not to mention all of them were Sheikah.

“We’re almost to the village, so stay alert.” The man said to him.

Link thought it was funny how these men and Sheik seemed to have authoritative personalities. He wondered if it was just a trait the Sheikah race had.

Clearly Sheik didn’t come from this village of Sheikah since he could practically feel the hostility radiating from the men directly to Sheik.

And to be honest, he really couldn’t blame them. He was more than willing to give Sheik a chance, but the other wasn’t giving him much to work with.

They continued walking along the crickets as they made their way to the village. A few glowing bugs were floating around them whenever they got closer to the dim lights ahead of them.

It had been dark on their way, but suddenly seeing light made him squint his eyes to adjust to it. As soon as he took in the full sight of the village, he was left staring to take in the sight. It was a beautiful village. Fire and lanterns along with the water made the entire place seem surreal. The floating fireflies and silence of the village had an almost sacred feeling to it.

”This way.” The man said as he wasted no time walking down the path. Link followed and still looked in every possible direction of this village. He hasn’t seen much, but he knew there weren’t many places in Hyrule that looked like this.

The man suddenly blocked him from walking another step whenever he extended his arm in front of him. He halted and looked over to the man, then to what he was looking at.

Two men stared at all five of them as they blocked stairs leading up to what looked like a temple. “This will take only a moment.” The man said as he retracted his arm and walked over to the two men.

Link watched the men speak to eachother and constantly look their way. Both of the men guarding looked unsettled as they talked to the third party. He saw Sheik move slightly in the corner of his eye and immediately both men grabbed the daggers that were sheathed at their sides.

One of the two men looked annoyed and said something firmly to the third man. He nodded and walked back over to them. “Master Link.” He said to him. “You’re clear to meet Lady Impa.”

He took note of how he only said him and not Sheik.

”What about him?” He asked without indicating the other. The Sheikah man already knew who he was talking about.

If the man was bothered or against what he’d asked, he certainly didn’t show it. “Would you like for him to accompany you?”

This time, Link looked away from the man and at Sheik. He really wanted to give the man an automatic answer of “yes” but he couldn’t do that. Of course he wanted to have a good relationship with Sheik and get to know more about the man in the memories and now, but Impa’s life could potentially be in danger if he wasn’t careful.

Sheik stared right back at him with those same bright eyes. Really, Link wanted to have someone beside him for this journey. A companion. Maybe even a friend. But that couldn’t happen without showing Sheik he was willing to give him a chance.

He just really hoped this wasn’t the wrong choice.

”Yes.”

The Sheikah man stared at him for a while, as if to make sure he didn’t change his mind, before he looked at his friend and gave a firm nod. Immediately, the man roughly grabbed Sheik while the other man searched through his bag and took a few weapons that Link had to look away from and tell himself that Sheik probably had a reason, whatever it was, for not helping him with that monster.

”You will get these back whenever you depart from this village.” The man said to Sheik. The other chose to stay silent.

As soon as the man stepped away from him, the man keeping him in place let him go.

The leader of the group then began to walk towards the stairs leading to the temple. “This way.”

The man led the way, and the other Sheikah man walked behind Sheik up the stairs. As soon as they all reached the doors, both Sheikah men stood on either side of the doors and waited for him to open it.

A few moments ticked by, before he walked in front of the doors, grabbed both handles, and pulled open the wooden doors on their squeaky hinges.

_Water flowed steadily behind him. The stream made a soothing flow of sounds as it gently ran beneath him. He’d been standing like this for a few minutes now. Maybe Impa really did leave him._

_He slightly opened one eye to peek—_

_”Keep your eyes closed!” A voice barked at him._

_He flinched and immediately closed his eye again. Impa let out a sigh and he knew even without looking that she was shaking her head at him._

_”Not even a full three minutes this time.” She told him. “Your curiosity will do more damage than good.” Her voice said as he heard her slowly make her way around him. “I already told you we are not going to leave unless I feel you have made progress.”_

_She stopped walking. “This exercise is for you to rely on your other senses besides your eyes if a similar situation were to presents itself. Focus on what you hear and do not let the water distract you._

_They’ve been out here for hours and they still haven’t left yet. Impa insisted he needed the training._

_The water suddenly splashed. Wait_

_Immediatly something hit his chest with enough force to make him lose his balance. He tried his best to stable himself again, but for the ninth time today, he fell on his back in the freezing stream._

_He kept his eyes closed and heard Impa chuckling at him. “Come on, Link.” Her aged voice croaked. “If you’re easily distracted _and_ unbalanced, how will you ever manage to protect the princess?”_

_Link felt the water brush past him for a few seconds before he stood up, found the thin log Impa set up for him, and began to climb one of the two large rocks keeping it somewhat stable. He had fallen off of it so many times that he could literally climb this rock with his eyes closed._

_As soon as he was back on it, Impa began to speak. “Link.” She told him. “I can only say so much to defend you. The King wants you to take the princess on a journey to awaken her power in only a few days time. You have to be ready for anything. Thoughts, distractions, senses... you must learn how to handle all of them.”_

_He stayed silent._

_”I truly have all of my faith in you.” She said to him. “I believe you and the princess will deliver to us what our ancestors and I have dreamed of for centuries. Everything we’ve fought for._

_The snap of a twig to his left, but this time he was ready. Link unsheathed his sword and sliced the blade through the air toward the whizzing sound in Impa’s direction. He immediately felt and heard the sound of something splitting apart against his sword._

_It splashed in the water which was followed up by Impa laughing in delight. “You’ve done it!” She said happily. “Finally.”_

_The sound of footsteps were now approaching him in water before they came to a stop. “Congratulations, Link.” She said below him. “Although it isn’t much, it’s still progress. Finally, you are learning to control intruding thoughts and distractions.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “Well done.”_

_He smiled a bit._

_”Unfortunately,” Her voice was suddenly in front of him. “Your balance could still use some work.” A light tap on his shoulder. He tightly grasped his sword and flailed his arms to try to stay balanced, before he tipped backwards even more and fell back in the cold water._

_Impa let out a bark of laughter. He finally opened his eyes to see her smiling down at him. Her eyes shone with admiration all directed at him. He smiled right back at her and got up with drenched clothes._

Those same eyes staring at him were no longer smiling. Impa stared at him with scrutiny and had a mask of calm. Her dark eyes looked over to Sheik, and if she’s was surprised she sure didn’t show it. She met his eyes again and only then did she smile.

”Hello Link.” Her voice said in the small room. Both doors still open suddenly slammed shut behind him, effectively keeping them in the room. “I see you’re here as well, Sheik.” Impa said as she tilted her head in acknowledgment to the man. Sheik didn’t react as he continued to watch the woman.

”You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” She commented to him. “Share your troubles with me.”

Link didn’t know where to start. The King, Sheik, the memories, the princess... “Impa,” He said receiving a slightly bigger smile from said woman. He thought it best to ask how this all started. “What happened before...” He trailed off. Before anything.

Impa’s smile then slowly turned into a frown. She took a few moments to herself, before she asked. “Before what?”

At that moment he couldn’t seem to meet her eyes as he directed them away from her. She looked so happy to see him. He knew he had some kind of connection with her, but right now he couldn’t seem to see this woman as anything but a stranger.

He realized this was definitely impolite not answering her and cleared his throat. “I don’t know what’s going on.” He admitted. “I know fragments of who was previously in my life before I woke up to lying in a cave, and the King telling me I needed to find a woman named ‘Impa’.” He told her.

She kept her face the same expression. “You do not remember what has happened?” He shook his head no. “Not even who you are?” He suddenly felt very uncomfortable to be standing here with little to no information on anything that's happening.

”Oh my.” She said quietly. “This is very inconvenient.” Impa took a few agonizing seconds to think as she kept glancing at both him and Sheik. He could practically see the unspoken thoughts brewing in her mind on what to do in this kind of situation.

She closed her eyes. “Okay.” She said. “I believe the best place to start is the beginning. So I will tell you what has happened and what you must do.” She slowly opened her eyes. “And then you will tell me how you met the King despite the fact that he’s been gone since the disaster.” She told him.

He nodded once, respectively letting her know he understood.

She turned her attention to Sheik. “And as for you, I would like to know where you have been all this time.

”Of course.” The man said to the woman across the room.

She kept her eyes on his before she looked back to him and let out a sigh. “Then let us begin.”

”Ten thousand years ago, in this land of Hyrule, a princess and a chosen hero were set with the task of saving us all from the evil being known as Ganondorf. The two being nothing more than children at this time, were expected to carry this burden throughout their lives.”

“The two grew up training their whole childhood into adulthood. Both gifted in their respective rights. The princess with her seemingly endless wisdom, and the hero with his unyielding courage. Together, they were meant to put a stop to the evil for good.”

Impa’s voice dropped. “But something unexpected happened.”

”For some reason, the hero would now be distracted by something. Somehow, he would lose focus and disappear from everyone’s sight whenever he could. Finally, the long awaited day came for the princess to hold the monster down, and for the hero to finish the job. But whenever his time came to deliver the final blow to Ganondorf once and for all,”

“He hesitated before plunging the legendary sword into the beast. Effectively dooming the land for Ganon to return again.”

Impa let her eyes stray to the side for a beat of silence. “Now, his task is up to you, Link.” She said as her eyes met his again.” And just like his destiny, you must have the princess beside you to eliminate him completely.”

”She is waiting for you in Hyrule Castle.” Impa smiled a little. “I would love nothing more than to tell you all that I know about our times together; about who _you_ were. But now is not that time. I have told you what you need to know for now. But time is now precious more than ever. Every passing second is valuable. Please understand that we must cut our reunion short and get straight into business.”

”Of course.” He said as he gathered his thoughts. “The King was an apparition to my knowledge. He told me to save the princess at all costs and his people. He told me to find you here in this village and that you would tell me everything.”

Impa nodded slowly. “You are not leaving anything out, correct?”

”No.” He confirmed.

”I see.” She turned her attention to the other occupant of the room. “And you, Sheik?”

Link was still looking at Impa, but whenever a few long moments of silence dragged on, he turned around to look at the other. Sheik kept his eyes trained on Impa, and even whenever Link turned to look at the man, he didn’t seem to pay him any attention. It unnerved him how Sheik stared people down without so much as blinking. The way he acted towards everyone, himself included, seemed nothing less than hostile.

Right at that moment, a man burst open the doors causing Link to startle at the unexpected intrusion, but Sheik didn’t budge.

”My Lady.” The man said urgently. “We have just received intel from the Gerudo on their response to your request.” He said as he walked quickly up to Impa and got on his knee. He presented a scroll to her.

She took it swiftly and read the contents. For a few tense moments, no one said anything as she read. After she was finished. She gently closed it and put it in her robe. “I see.” Is all she said.

”You are dismissed.” She told the man who stood up, bowed, and left the room just as quickly as he had come. “This meeting is over for now, but we must talk more in the future.” She said looking at Sheik. “Link, this is a lot to ask, but I need you to go to the Four Powers on my behalf. I cannot attend for reasons involving my village. I ask this of you because I know you are incredibly reliable. Please go with Sheik and find them. They are the Gorons, Zora, Rito, and Gerudo.”

”They will help you fill in the gaps of what is going on. Take these,” she reached to her left and got four scrolls with different colored ribbons wrapped around them laying on the floor. Red, blue, green, and orange. “And give them to each of the leaders. Report back to me whenever you have returned from your journey.”

”Also, someone who I believe can help you, Purah, is also in the neighboring village. Please give her a visit whenever you have the time. Stay here in the village for tonight, but set off early tomorrow. Am I understood?”

He walked up to her and took the scrolls from her offering hands. He gave her a nod. “Yes.”

Impa’s eyes showed surprise. He took note of her expression before it was back to its neutral state and staring at the other. “Sheik.” She said to him. “I expect you to uphold these responsibilities as well.”

Whenever Sheik didn’t say anything, she added: “I am trusting you.”

Link had to physically fight the shock that wanted to make its way on his face. Given how he’s seen everyone treat the other, he honestly couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He chanced a look at Sheik to see the man look just as surprised as him.

Impa seemed to pay no mind to their shock and carried the same calm with her next words. “That is all I have to say until furthermore. Rest for the night, and then leave.” She said.

”Thank you, Impa.” Link said to the woman.

She offered him a smile before she looked over to Sheik. For the first time since they got here, Sheik actually looked away from Impa for a second before he gave her one firm nod. Her smile only grew. “The inn here is very close.” She told them. “There will be a sign to let you know which it is.”

And with that, Impa slowly got up and made her way steadily up the stairs behind her. “Goodnight.” Is all she said.

He watched until she was comepletly gone, and whenever she was, he still stared at where she had left. Her story of the hero before him interested him. But now he had so much more to worry about with the tasks he had been given. Seeing ‘Purah’, going to the Four Powers, and rescuing the princess.

He had a lot to do with what seemed like a short amount of time by the way Impa kept pushing to only let him know the details. She didn’t tell him a thing about what happened to him.

He felt himself frown at that. Did she do that intentionally or not?

He turned around to Sheik to see the other patiently waiting for him. And once he saw Link looking at him, he only turned around and opened the doors, which was his cue to follow. Link took one last glance at where Impa had turn in for the night, before following after Sheik.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m almost two months late, but at least it’s a super long chapter amiright? I kept rewriting this chapter because I didn’t know how to go about this. I seriously rewrote it three times and changed a lot of stuff until I got everything I wanted to across. I’m really sorry it’s late, I’ll try not to let that happen again. All I can say is I’m so glad it’s not a half baked chapter. Thank you all for your patience and now, the real journey _finally_ begins ;)


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